Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees to be housed at festival site for six weeks

Tents at the site of an Irish music festival are to be used to house hundreds of Ukrainian refugees for the next six weeks, a junior minister has said.

Over the weekend, 70,000 revellers attended Electric Picnic at Stradbally, Co Laois – but its tents are now to be used to help with a shortage in emergency beds.

The Department of Integration said that due to a drop-off in rooms in the tourism sector and as student accommodation became unavailable ahead of the academic year, it was expected that tents “will be the primary source of accommodation” for new arrivals from Ukraine from this week.

The return to the use of tents comes after the Minister for Children and Integration said in November that Ireland would stop using tents to house refugees.

Military-grade tents at the Gormanston army camp in Co Meath and other locations have been used to house refugees temporarily as more permanent accommodation is sourced.

As of June, 84,613 people have fled to Ireland from the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in February last year.

There has also been a rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland, beyond the 3,000 to 5,000 arrivals per year expected by the Irish State.

The Department said in a statement to the PA news agency that since February last year, the Irish State had housed over 93,000 people seeking refuge, including 69,885 Ukrainian nationals and 23,195 asylum seekers.

The influx had put the Government under pressure to source suitable accommodation for Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers.

The Government has sought to address this by procuring beds in hotels and B&Bs, by looking to refurbish unused public buildings, and using rooms pledged by members of the public for a limited time.

Minister of State Ossian Smyth said that 750 Ukrainian refugees were to be moved onto the festival site this week amid what he called a “short-term” squeeze on accommodation options.

Mr Smyth, who has responsibility for public procurement, e-government and the circular economy, has said he is confident other accommodation will be found in six weeks’ time.

“We’ve been using tents in Tullamore in a military facility up to now as a last resort, and in the last four months we’ve had 10,000 Ukrainians arrive in the country,” he told RTE’s Morning Ireland.

“So in other words, the rates they’re arriving has increased.

“We’re now faced with a real short-term difficulty for the next few weeks, and the Government has contracted to take over the tents that were at the Electric Picnic over the weekend.

“And I think that today or tomorrow, up to 750 Ukrainians will be moving into those tents but that’s obviously a very short-term facility … six weeks I would expect.”

Mr Smyth added: “The Government has shown an ability and Roderic O’Gorman’s department has shown an ability to put huge quantities of accommodation online.

“They’re accommodating more than the population of Galway city at this stage.

“So within one year, they have come up with temporary accommodation at that speed, and I fully expect that they will be capable of housing those Ukrainians at the end of the six weeks.”

The Department of Integration said in a statement: “The summer months have seen an increase in the number of arrivals from Ukraine, with more than 10,000 people fleeing here since May 1, an average of around 650 people per week.

“It is estimated that up to 500 people could continue to arrive over the next weeks from Ukraine.

“While almost 7,000 additional beds have been contracted in this time, there remains a significant shortfall in accommodation for those fleeing Ukraine.

“While it has been possible to source accommodation from the tourism sector up to now, that sector is at capacity, and very few new offers are being made to the department.

“In addition, sourcing accommodation for those already in Ireland in student accommodation is a challenge, and some may have to be moved to other very short-term accommodation until more stable accommodation is available.

“Due to this significant shortfall, it is expected that, from this week, tented accommodation will be the primary source of accommodation for new arrivals from Ukraine.

“A small number of new arrivals have already been placed in tents, and this will increase as new locations for tented facilities come on stream. Vulnerable arrivals will be prioritised for any non-tented accommodation available.”

It added: “Government continues to seek new accommodation sources such as repurposed buildings and rapid build and prefabricated accommodation. Offers of commercial accommodation to DCEDIY (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth) continue to reduce month-on-month. We have negotiated with and contracted as many longer-term providers as is possible.

“Not all are suitable and must meet agreed standards.

“The use of student accommodation throughout the summer months offered initial contingency but has also served to create a build-up of demand in light of decreasing supply. Other sources of accommodation which require refurbishment or have building requirements take significantly longer to come on stream.”

Organisers of the National Ploughing Championships were also approached by Government to see if their site could be used for refugees following their September event.

But organisers said this would not be possible as there were no camping facilities, and because the land was used for farming immediately after the championships.