Ukrainian refugees housed in a hotel in Clondalkin, Dublin will be moved to alternative accommodation in Cork, Limerick, and Donegal on Monday morning.

They have been staying at the hotel since arriving in Ireland after fleeing the war.

The residents of the hotel received letters from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth informing them where they will be moved to.

One of the residents told RTÉ News that the Ukrainian families are "shocked" to find out they will all be moved to different parts of the country as many of their children are now settled in schools in Clondalkin.

Many of the adults had found work locally since they arrived in the West Dublin area in March and were integrating into the community.

Angie Gough from the Helping Irish Hosts organisation is among those who have been working to help the families find alternative accommodation since they received letters last week informing them that they were being moved.

She said she was saddened to hear the residents got a further letter informing them where they will be moved to on Monday.

"We are managing to keep some of the people who wanted to be kept in Dublin. But the rest are now being sent to all corners of Ireland," she said.

She acknowledged the pressure the Department is under with the numbers of people arriving in Ireland.

She added Ireland's response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis has been "nothing short of phenomenal."

Ms Gough said: "But we must do better in terms of giving people more notice about moves like this. It destabilises people who have worked hard, with the support of local communities, to integrate and build lives here for as long as they are in Ireland."

Seven months ago, Halyna Isaieva fled the western Ukrainian city of Luhansk with her 10-year-old daughter.

Speaking to RTÉ's Prime Time on Tuesday night she said that the hotel in Clondalkin was like "a second home" and they were trying to start a new life in Dublin.

Her daughter was attending Scoil Mhuire National School in Clondalkin and she had found it very welcoming.

She was "really shocked" to get a letter telling her she will be moved to a holiday home in Cork.

She is concerned about her daughter having to start another school and access to transport in a rural area.

Katerina Pafnutova fled from Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine with her six-year-old son eight months ago.

She told the same programme that her son is happy to be in safe country and he was settled into school in Clondalkin.

Although she has managed to secure accommodation in Dublin in the recent days, she said she is "very upset" that her friends in the hotel are now being sent to other parts of the country.

The Department of Children and Integration provides short-term accommodation to those who are deemed by the Department of Justice to be eligible for temporary protection under the Temporary Protection Directive.

In a statement, the department said that due to unprecedented demand for accommodation by new arrivals into the State, "occupation of existing accommodation is maximised."

"As a result of current constraints on temporary accommodation, it is necessary for the Department to transfer Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection to other accommodation as and when it becomes available.

"This helps ensure accommodation is available for all those who seek it. Such transfers only take place where necessary."

Over 200 Ukrainians have been living in the hotel in Clondalkin.

The Department said it is "now working with our implementing partners and accommodation providers to make this move as easy and efficient as possible."