LAST UPDATE | 19 Feb

THE TAOISEACH HAS told the Dáil that he does not approve of the moving of Ukrainian refugees as it will retraumatise them, at the same time as several hundred Ukrainian people in Cork have been told to leave their accommodation, The Journal has learned. 

“We don’t necessarily want to add to [their] trauma,” Micheál Martin told the Dáil today. 

Around 300 Ukrainian refugees – mostly women and children – are currently living in the privately-owned Cork Student Village on the Carrigrohane Road, near the Victoria Cross area of the city.

The Department of Integration recently wrote to residents, telling them they would be relocated. The residents received another letter yesterday confirming that the government is going ahead with the move and they will all be relocated. 

Children living in the accommodation will have to leave their schools and move to new schools in the middle of the school year. 

According to residents who spoke to The Journal, older people and those with disabilities have received their relocation papers and will be moved on 27 February.

A message at the centre marked as a “reminder” has told the remaining refugees that they will be moved on 3 and 4 March.

They are being offered “new state-supported” accommodation by the Department.

The same thing is happening to residents at another centre located at Red Barn near Youghal on the Cork/Waterford border. 

This centre, which was previously a 120-room hotel, was awarded a contract to house Ukrainians arriving in to Ireland was three years ago following the Russian invasion of their homeland.

Since then, many of the female residents have taken up jobs in the area and the children have formed friendships while attending local schools.

‘Turfed out’

This morning East Cork TD James O’Connor asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin a question in the Dáil about the Red Barn residents.

In response the Taoiseach said that he did not support adding to the trauma already suffered, particularly by Ukrainian children. 

Micheál Martin said he would discuss this with Norma Foley, the Minister for Children, but the Taoiseach said that his Government “has been very clear” that hotels must be brought back for “tourism purposes”. 

“I don’t believe that Ukrainians should be treated in an unfavorable manner… if they’ve [been] set up in local schools, if they’ve been in a given location for quite some time, I don’t approve that they’ve been summarily turfed out and moved on to locations far away.

“I think we’ll discuss this with the new minister for children in terms of the need to be conscious of the needs of the Ukrainian children, in particular, because the trauma they’ve already experienced because of having to flee their country, because of war. We don’t necessarily want to add to that trauma,” he said. 

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality said in a statement that it will offer “follow on” accomodation in the coming weeks and that it was making “every effort to keep them as close to their current location as possible”.

“However, given the significant number of moves planned, this may not always be possible. A vacancy mapping exercise is underway, which may give an indication of the vacancies in the area,” the statement added.

The Department said that Ukrainian refugees were “free to make their own private arrangements” and explained that State accomodation was assessed on ”HSE assessed medical needs”.

“We appreciate that this is not easy for people and that moving location can be very disruptive, but at all times we were clear that State-funded accommodation for people fleeing the war in Ukraine is temporary and subject to change.

“We need to provide the best we can for all those who come to Ireland fleeing the war, and other areas of war or oppression, while balancing this with the requirement to make best possible use of State funds,” the department said.

With additional reporting from Sasha Romanova