AN estimated 85 Ukrainian refugees in West Cork have been served with notices to quit their State-supported accommodation by January 31.
Residents living in a specially-adapted building at Main Street, Skibbereen, will have to find accommodation in the New Year, as will those staying at a former waterfront hotel on Sherkin Island.
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Skibbereen businessman, Denny Collins, confirmed the decision imposed by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, which was conveyed to him on Friday.
“In my estimation, about 70 per cent of the refugees who arrived have found employment locally and should be able to pay for reasonable accommodation, but the problem is there is no accommodation,” he told The Southern Star.
“However, quite a few have expressed an interest in staying with us as part of a private, rental agreement. There is no way we are going to put anyone out on the street.”
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD), said they were informed of the department’s decision and how it would affect 299 Ukrainians, living at eight centres in Cork city and county.
“These will now face the monumental challenge of having to find an alternative place to live in just three months amid Ireland’s ever-worsening housing crisis, or else return to a war zone,” she said.
The situation facing Ukrainian refugees in Ireland has changed dramatically since they first arrived in Ireland after the war with Russia started in February 2022.
With the Government systematically reducing financial supports for accommodation, and various financial supports, Cllr Towse said: “We all know private rental accommodation is extremely scarce and that this will leave some vulnerable refugees facing undue hardship.”
Residents did have the option – before September 11 – to apply to remain in State accommodation, but in a landmark case in the Supreme Court in October, a disabled Ukrainian woman in an hotel lost an appeal relating to the loss of welfare benefits.
Cllr Towse said individual residents are “in the dark as to how the Government will judge their level of vulnerability. Those who applied may not hear the outcome of their application for several more weeks.
“This further limits the time, over the Christmas period, they will need to secure alternative accommodation on the private market.”
The majority of the Ukrainians who came to West Cork have secured work locally and their children are very well integrated into the local schools and the community, but Cllr Towse said: “It is not fair to demand that the most vulnerable move at short notice, in the depths of winter.”
She said the facility on Sherkin Island had been “a shining example of one community welcoming another, given that the small population has benefited from the boost in numbers while Ukrainians found a safe haven on the island.
“Islanders are deeply disappointed at the prospect of losing their respected Ukrainian friends and neighbours, not to mention the support they have provided to the labour force all these years.”
For those hoping to stay longer, the new Temporary Protection Transition Scheme could provide immigration permission for two years on a renewable basis if criteria are met.
“There is still an active war in Ukraine, with Russia killing dozens of civilians this week alone and attacking energy infrastructure causing blackouts. Meanwhile, our Government is making people jump through hoops to seek stable accommodation and permission to remain in Ireland longer term,” said Cllr Towse.
“Is this how we would like to be treated by a host country if we were being bombed? Providing continued basic accommodation is the least we should be doing.”
