The National Ploughing Association has been approached by the Government to accommodate Ukrainian refugees once this year's three-day National Ploughing Championships is complete.
NPA Assistant Managing Director Anna Marie McHugh said they were contacted around the same time as Electric Picnic and they discussed the idea in detail.
Ultimately, the NPA said it would not be possible to take refugees, as unlike Electric Picnic it does not have campsite facilities on the Ratheniska site, in Co Laois.
It said the commercial marquees on site have no dividing options and are immediately taken down by contractors.
The land on which the championships take place reverts to farming activity immediately after the event, and will have livestock on it five or six weeks afterwards.
Ms McHugh was speaking at the official launch of this year's event, which takes place on the Co Laois site from 19 to 21 September.
Limited tickets on gates
Ms McHugh confirmed that a limited number of tickets for this year's ploughing championships will be on sale at entrance gates, but there is no guarantee of availability.
She said the decision to go online with ticket sales this year was based on advice from gardaí and other emergency services.
That decision to go cashless has been criticised, but Ms McHugh said online sales already amounted to 65 or 70% of tickets sales in other years.
Tickets for the event are the same as last year at €25 per adult and €20 for over 12s. Children under 12 go free and there are also concession for OAP and students. Any tickets sold at the gates will cost €30.
Refugees begin arriving at Stradbally site
The first group of Ukrainian refugees to live in tents on the estate of Stradbally Hall in Co Laois have begun arriving at the site.
A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said a "small group" is being transported to the site.
Hundreds more will be accommodated in the coming days and weeks, amid what the department has described as "a significant shortfall in accommodation for those fleeing Ukraine".
Families will be accommodated in bell tents previously used for 'boutique camping' at last weekend's Electric Picnic, although the festival itself is not involved in the initiative.
A spokesperson for the department said accommodation at the Stradbally site was "for very short-term use".
"The contract is for a six-week period and will have a capacity of 750, which will be used on a phased, contingency basis," the spokesperson said.
Mayor of Co Laois Cllr Paschal McEvoy said he did not believe living in a tent for up to six weeks at this time of year was ideal for anyone.
"It is probably the wrong thing to do, but then again, the other side of it is there is nowhere else to put them at the moment," he said.
Mr McEvoy said he would like to think it is only for the short-term, and that they can be moved on to more suitable accommodation where they can be looked after better.
He said there are already over 1,000 Ukrainians in Laois and there has been no bother, adding he would like "to think these people will be welcomed with open arms in Stradbally".
"We have to be mindful of the fact that they're coming from a war-torn country in Ukraine … and as far as I am concerned, we will look after them as best we can."
Earlier, Minister of State Ossian Smyth said that in the last four months, 10,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the minister said: "The Government has shown an ability, and Roderic O’Gorman's department [of Integration] 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 would be capable of housing those Ukrainians at the end of the six weeks."
Additional reporting Laura Fletcher
