A substantial number of people sought international protection in Ireland last year, which put real pressure on accommodation services, according to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Roderic O’Gorman said this came on top of "dealing with the biggest humanitarian challenge the State has ever faced in terms of Ukraine".
He said Ireland will have to devise a migration service, and a migration system, that responds to larger numbers of people.
"I think Ireland will, I think all European countries are going to have to recognise that migration at scale is something whether it's from wars, whether it's from climate change that is something as a country, and as a European Union, we have to prepare for," he added.
In relation to sourcing other accommodation such as modular homes, he said these are being developed for people displaced from Ukraine and they should be ready by the end of Q1 of this year, and there will be further development of modular homes at sites across the country.
Mr O'Gorman said that around 800 Ukrainians and 570 international protection applicants arrived over the Christmas period from 23 December to 2 January.
"We have provided accommodation for everyone, but the accommodation situation does remain extremely, extremely tight.
"We are continuing to look to source additional accommodation, but it is a real challenge I think, particularly over the Christmas period where it is harder to access accommodation, but we were able to provide accommodation for everyone who arrived over the Christmas and New Year."
Ireland will have to devise a migration system that responds to larger numbers of people, Minister Roderic O'Gorman told @MorningIreland after a 'very substantial' number of people sought international protection last year | Read more political coverage: https://t.co/jZge7MyFrG pic.twitter.com/Y96jB5sudg
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 3, 2023
He said that as summer comes hotels that are being used now as accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers will look to revert to holiday accommodation.
"That's going to be a real challenge, and we do expect a a number of the hotels and guest houses we've currently contracted primarily for Ukrainian accommodation will look to reverse and that's why we're bringing forward alternative methods of accommodation, be it the modular … be it the refurbishment of large institutional buildings or barracks that the Department of Housing is working on, or be it the provision of the new vacant home scheme that's being run through local authorities."
In relation to an incident at a hotel being used as a temporary direct provision centre in Killarney, Co Kerry, the minister said there have been a number of arrests and a garda investigation is under way.
He said the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) has been in contact with the hotel management.
The minister said that he wants to insure the safety and security of staff and residents in that accommodation in Killarney, "so we will be taking measures in the immediate term, in terms of ensuring that the other residents in Hotel Killarney and staff are kept safe."
"I don't want to minimise this. This was a serious incident. And I also think it's important to recognise, in the context where we're accommodating 73,000 people this year, this is one incident where a small number of people undertook actions, undertook criminal actions, and the criminal justice system is now at play in response to their actions."
He said it is a serious incident but it "has to be understood in the wider context this year, but also in the context of international protection applicants being in Ireland for many years, and instance like this being extremely isolated".
