A group of Ukrainian women and children have expressed their shock and despair after being told they will have to move from the Quality Hotel in Redbarn outside Youghal in Co Cork to a new location.
The 120-room hotel was given a contract three years ago to house Ukrainians arriving into Ireland following the Russian invasion of their homeland.
Having spent over two years living in the hotel, many of the female residents have since taken up jobs in the area and the children have formed friendships while attending local schools.
Mila, a mother of two children aged eight and 13, told the 96FM Opinion Line that she felt "lost and devastated" at the news they will have to move out of the only home they have known since war ravaged their native country.
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"The news that we will be moved is shocking. We are mothers with children and we are very worried about what is happening now. (We can't go home) because the war is still there and the frontline is moving - unfortunately not in the direction we want it," she added.
Mila continued: "The children already found out about the news and are so upset. They are feeling lost because all of their friends and all of their life is here. For three years we are here and if we are uprooted again that will be devastating.
"We have less than one month to find something here or to be moved."
She said that many women in the centre are working locally and paying taxes.
"The rent is very high here. It is hard to compete (in the rental market). Not many people are renting in Youghal. To find something is almost impossible now," she explained.
A second woman, Jana, who wrote to Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman, said that her child was crying and pleading with her to stay in the hotel with her friends.
She said: "(She is saying) 'I don’t want to change my school.’ If we change again I understand it will be a safe place but it is a very big stress for us and our children."
Nadia, 11, explained that she was very upset at the prospect of having to leave friends from her school to move to a new area.
"I like the school and I have so many friends in this hotel. I don’t want to leave. School is so important to me. I left behind my friends, father, my sports and my house in Ukraine."
'Deeply concerning' information from the Department of Integration
Meanwhile, East Cork Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor has described the news as "deeply concerning" information emerging from the Department of Integration.
He said: "Particularly the impact this is going to have on schools in the area. It is very unfair that families are facing relocation during the middle of a school term.
"I am very angry about the disruption it will have to schools in post primary and primary level. This is being managed extremely poorly."
In a statement, the Department of Integration said that it continues to work on what is part of a "whole of Government" response to the war in Ukraine with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation for those fleeing the conflict.
"This supports Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) to make longer term independent arrangements if they decide to remain in Ireland for the duration of the Temporary Protection Directive," the statement said.
It went on: "As the demand for accommodation for BOTPs decreases and they make their own independent arrangements for accommodation, the Department is carrying vacancies in commercial contracts.
"As a result, the Department ends contracts on a regular basis in order to ensure value for money and greater oversight of the portfolio.
"In 2024, over 400 contracts ended for emergency accommodation, in some cases initiated by the providers in order to return to the private sector, or to offer their accommodation for other uses.
"At the same time, the need for accommodation for International Protection applicants is increasing and experiencing significant shortages, with over 3,000 people left without an offer of accommodation in 2024."
The statement added that the provider at this site has expressed an interest in offering accommodation for international protection following the end of the BOTP contract.
"In the next weeks the Department will visit the centre and offer follow on accommodation elsewhere to those that need it, and every effort will be made to keep them as close to their current location as possible," the statement said.
