One of the main centres processing people seeking asylum in Ireland is to close to new arrivals for four days over the Christmas period, and the Government has appealed to Ukrainian refugees not to travel to Ireland during the festive period.
In a statement, the Department of Integration said the Citywest transit hub will remain operational between Christmas Eve and 27 December for those who are already in it, but that anyone arriving from Ukraine will be accommodated temporarily at designated local authority sites during this time.
The Government has asked the Ukrainian embassy to relay a message to those in Ukraine considering coming to Ireland that if they are in a safe location they should remain there at this time and not travel to Ireland over the next fortnight.
The department also said it expects the procurement of additional accommodation will be very challenging up to mid-January.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
It says State-provided accommodation is very limited in Ireland at the moment both for Ukrainian beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and for International Protection applicants and that this shortage is likely to continue into early January.
It says Ireland is now accommodating more than 50,000 people from Ukraine as well as 18,000 International Protection applicants.
The department said it will work throughout the Christmas period with other bodies to provide a place to sleep for those arriving during the festive period.
