Laois hotel vacated by Ukrainian refugees
The Town Hotel in Portlaoise was home to Ukraine residents since 2022
A hotel in Laois has ended its residency for Ukrainian war refugees.
The Town Hotel on Main Street, Portlaoise was closed to the public to become home to displaced Ukrainian families shortly after Russian invasion of the country in February 2022.
The hotel had held social events and gathered donations, to support their Ukrainian residents, mostly women and children, to settle into their temporary home in Portlaoise.
Laois County Council has confirmed that the contract has ended between the Department of Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth, and the Town Hotel, which was formerly O'Loughlin's Hotel.
The hotel was vacated in mid July.
They say that 60% of the residents were given alternate state supported accommodation. The other 40% found accommodation privately or were helped to find homes locally under the Offer a Home scheme.
So far 71 Ukraine families have been helped to source temporary accommodation locally through the Offer a Home scheme, which is still taking applications, paying homeowners to take in Ukrainians to their homes.
The council says it continues to work with the Department to find both temporary accommodation, and sites suited for medium to longer term homes.
Their Integration and Ukrainian support teams continue to help all in need of support to settle in, including events for children over the summer months.
The Department has stopped taking offers of commercial properties for Ukrainian people and is reviewing the existing commercial accommodation, ending some contracts in favour of more integrated homes in communities.
"New or increased offers of commercial properties to meet the needs of BOTPs seeking accommodation are therefore not being sought at this time.
"Over the coming months, the Department will be reviewing its entire accommodation portfolio and has commenced renewing contracts for existing accommodation that meet the Department’s accommodation portfolio requirements. The Department is seeking to consolidate its accommodation portfolio, and will endeavour to use more sustainable, self-sufficient accommodation that supports independent living and integration.
"The Department will be terminating contracts with some properties which do not meet these requirements and, in particular, will be terminating contracts with providers where contract compliance has not been upheld.
"In addition, there will be a focus on moving people into refurbished properties brought on by the Department and Local Authorities on behalf of Government, and this may mean that some existing accommodation in those areas will not be renewed," they say.