The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) has said it is now housing 88,595 people “between those fleeing Ukraine/url] and international protection applicants” compared to just 8,575 at the end of February last year.
These figures emerged as it was reported that the Student Village in Cork is to shut its doors to students for the next academic year after it entered into a contract with IPAS to provide accommodation for refugees for twelve months.
In response to a query sent by the Irish Examiner the Department of Integration said, “In these unprecedented circumstances, the department is availing of any suitable offer of accommodation made to it, including the use of office buildings and sports facilities, to address the accommodation shortfall.”
Cork Student Village which says it is a “family run business with years of experience dealing with students,” consists of 60 apartments and is 10 mins from the UCC campus.
This comes as over 5,000 student beds are to be used to house migrants over the summer months according to correspondence from Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman.
Earlier this month it emerged that student accommodation in Sligo had also been acquired by IPAS as migrant accommodation after Benbulben Court Apartments at Clarion Road and Milligan Court Apartments at Connaughton Road announced they would not be accommodating students for the upcoming academic year.
President of ATU Sligo Students’ Union, Dáire Martin expressed dismay at the decision saying it was “out of touch and insensitive” in a time when affordable accommodation for those pursuing higher education in Ireland is ‘challenging’.