HUNDREDS OF UKRAINIANS living in the Trabolgan Holiday Centre in Midleton, County Cork, have been told that they will have to leave due to the government’s “wind-down” of contracted commercial accommodation.

Residents were not given an exact eviction date, but they were told by management at the centre that more information will be provided “in the coming weeks”.

Affected Ukrainians who have spoken to The Journal have said that many work locally and are at risk of losing their jobs, and that the children living there who attend local schools will also be badly impacted if they have to move away from the town.

It comes as the Irish Government is pressing ahead with substantial cuts to supports for Ukrainians, including the provision of free accommodation. 

Previously, it was announced that this would be done on a phased basis from August onwards, with 16,000 people living in State accommodation to be impacted.

Government ministers have said that the policy aims to reduce reliance on State-funded accommodation, and to see the Ukrainian population transition into private housing where possible. 

Opposition politicians have raised concerns about the pressure this will put on the private rental market at a time when students will also be seeking rental accommodation nationwide. 

Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, who is local to Middleton, told The Journal that the families are “well integrated”, with children settled in schools, parents working locally and friendships formed.

He said the eviction will be shocking for the impacted people, and described the handling of the situation as “heartless”.

“Nobody is pretending emergency accommodation arrangements can remain unchanged forever. But uprooting hundreds of people, including children, older people and people with disabilities, with vague timelines and no clear alternative, is not a humane transition,” he said.

The company that owns the centre, Trabolgan Holiday centre Limited, reported a 12% increase in pre-tax profit in 2024 of €8.4 million off the back of its contracts with the State to house Ukrainians. 

Ukrainians living in the Trabolgan centre have raised concerns that they have simply been told they will have to leave, with no set timeline in place. 

The message Ukrainians in the centre have recieved, with a QR code that links to a general government information page.

Svetlana Komurko has been resident at the centre for the last year alongside her 19-year-old son. She said that the majority of the families there are from “the occupied territories in Ukraine”.

“My town is completely destroyed in Kherson, so going back just isn’t an option. We’ve settled here as a community and lots of people work and go to school nearby, they do not know what is going to happen now, or what date we will be evicted by,” she said.

Kherson remains under near-daily Russian artillery and drone attack, with recent strikes on residential districts and critical infrastructure causing civilian casualties and widespread damage.

Komurko said that the number of people living at the centre has risen to almost 600 since 2022, and that this includes many children.  

In a joint letter the residents have expressed their gratitude for the “hospitality, warmth and the safe haven” that has been provided to them“at this incredibly difficult time of war”.

However, they plead for the timeline of their pending eviction to be reconsidered, and for the process to be made clearer to them. 

They also flagged the problem they will face with securing alternative accommodation due to the housing crisis, which they said makes it “practically impossible to find private rental accommodation independently at short notice”.

The residents said they understood that Trabolgan “is a business” and that accommodation programs undergo “changing regulations”, however they pleaded for a new timeline on the grounds of “kindness and social responsibility”.

“Given Ireland’s stance on neutrality and the importance it places on peace, we cannot believe you expect war refugees to return to towns and cities under daily attack,” the residents said.

Speaking to The Journal, Komurko said that almost every house with residents in Trabolgan has small children.

“There are disabled people in wheelchairs and so many elderly people. 

“Many young families, after losing their homes, could also lose their jobs. Teenagers will lose the opportunity to enter university. Do our families really deserve this?” she added.

Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights centre, told The Journal that their Cork team is working at the forefront of this situation.

A member of their Ukrainian support team said that many families have been in touch with concerns about their housing security.

“While every situation is different, a common concern is the uncertainty that people are facing and the need for clear information and practical support. It is important that vulnerable individuals and families have access to the right housing supports so they are not placed at risk of homelessness,” the support worker said.