The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern at Ireland’s continued use of tented accommodation for asylum seekers, particularly with the cold of winter approaching.
Currently over 450 international protection applicants are living in three tented accommodation sites, located in Dublin, Clare and Westmeath. As of earlier this month, the vast majority – around 319 – were located on the grounds of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, Dublin.
A further 56 were present in Columb Barracks in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, while 76 were located near to a direct provision centre in Knockalisheen in Meelick, Co. Clare.
The tented accommodation which had been used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees in Stradbally Estate, Co. Laois, is due to close tomorrow. This was previously the site of the Electric Picnic music festival, though the festival itself reportedly had no involvement in the scheme.
The Ukrainian embassy in Ireland has warned its citizens of the “housing crisis” in Ireland and the “significant deficit” of accommodation available.#gripthttps://t.co/gMpZuud3HJ
— gript (@griptmedia) September 5, 2023
At that time, the Irish government said it expected tents to become “the primary source of accommodation” for newly-arriving Ukrainian refugees for “very short-term use.”
Speaking this week, the head of the Dublin Office of the UNHCR, Enda O’Neill, said his organisation had visited several tented accommodation sites in the past number of weeks, and claimed that while authorities are “doing their best” to keep people “warm and dry…it is ultimately very difficult to weather-proof tents against falling temperatures, rain and wind.”
“While we acknowledge that the challenges facing the government in light of the numbers arriving into Ireland, both from Ukraine and other countries are significant, the fact that hundreds of people are still living in tented accommodation as winter approaches highlights the importance of sustainable planning and innovative solutions to our accommodation challenges,” he said.
“UNHCR believes asylum seekers should not be accommodated in tents except when absolutely necessary, where no alternative, more appropriate solutions are available, and only as a temporary, time-limited measure in exceptional circumstances.”
The group said that the “modular, pod-like units, such as those currently being installed at Columb Barracks in Mullingar, are a much better solution than the tented accommodation being used at several sites around the country.”
According to RTÉ News, the Department of Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth said in a statement that “due to the emergency nature of the accommodation crisis, it is not possible to state what the average length of stay is for residents.”
The spokesperson reportedly said that “during periods of heavy rain or strong winds, all tent entrances are securely sealed to prevent any water ingress, ensuring residents remain dry and safe.”
They added that plans have been devised to manage “extreme weather” events, such as “alternative locations to move residents to for the duration of the weather event, in so far as possible.”