Offaly-based Ukrainians worried about continuation of accommodation
UNCERTAINTY over accommodation this year is worrying many Ukrainians who have been in Offaly since Russia invaded their country in February 2022.
It is understood that some hotels have yet to renew Government contracts which have been in place since last spring.
Currently there are 140 people staying at the Central Hotel in Tullamore alone out of more than 550 who fled to Ireland and found accommodation in Offaly.
With the summer tourist season expected to return to more normal levels post-Covid, it has emerged that some hoteliers are considering a withdrawal from the provision of accommodation for Ukrainians.
It is believed the Central Hotel is subject to a three-month renewable rolling contract but the existing arrangement will end in March.
A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said on Tuesday evening that no accommodation providers have signalled their intention to stop providing accommodation to BOTPs (beneficiaries of temporary protection) once their current contract ends.
Though there is no indication hotels and guest houses in Offaly are actively seeking to revert to normal business, a Tullamore-based Ukraine support worker said he has spoken to people who are worried.
“I know that people are concerned because some of them still did not manage to find their own accommodation for various reasons. It is all difficult, especially their emotional state of mind, the way they feel,” said Ernest Cherenkov.
“As far as the situation in housing, there's no need to mention there is a crisis in Ireland for everyone. I believe a lot of the good people of Ireland who have premises empty, they go to the County Council and the inspectors sees them and maybe it would be a facility for Ukrainians.
“Some people who are from Central Hotel are actually looking for housing themselves. They are trying to [but] there is nothing available unfortunately.
“Basically the only better chance they have is if they register with some companies or organisation who work together with the County Council and then those accommodations could be offered from those good people who have them.”
Mr Cherenkov, a native of Riga, Latvia who has been working in Ireland as an interpreter since 2007, said many of those who arrived in Tullamore from Ukraine in March 2022 found work and other accommodation shortly afterwards.
Mr Cherenkov worked for Intreo, the employment support service, and assisted some Ukrainian construction workers with safety passes and placement on training courses.
“There are courses available in Dublin which are run in Ukrainian language. A lot of people hire them from Dublin and I know stories where the company that hired them gave a house to Ukrainian people. But unfortunately not everyone [is] that lucky.”
Mr Cherenkov stated that he could not say what will happen anyone who has to leave a hotel or B&B but he understands their right to housing is protected by EU-wide temporary protection legislation which compels states to provide suitable accommodation and guarantees “a roof over the head”.
“It's really a political decision but according to the law, what I believe, is that they a priori cannot be homeless. Even if they don't stay in a hotel they are going to be rehoused somewhere, temporary, mobile, modular units, I don't know.”
The current phase of the war following the Russian invasion is now about to enter a second year but some Ukrainians would nonetheless like to return home.
“They are very appreciative of how they get treated here, for all the help, all the kindness. They are very emotional about it but they are still missing home a lot.”
Mr Cherenkov, who lives in Tullamore, works part-time at the Ukraine Hub on Bury Quay in the town where a free shop is located and where Ukrainians get support, practical help and advice.
Projects, including a garden with a polytunnel where they can grow their own food, are being initiated with the help of the National Learning Network, the council and the Offaly Volunteer Centre run by Deirdre Fox.
Mr Cherenkov hopes projects like that will help the Ukrainian refugees cope better with being away from home, and in the case of many women and children, being separated from husbands and fathers.
“What worries us also is their mental state. It's something that not every human being can experience. When you're not in their shoes you might not feel this way but for them it is different story. It is not just 'come over here in Ireland and be on social welfare', that is not their aim originally.”
Some of Offaly's new residents have lost their male partners and relatives. “A lot of them unfortunately died. Funerals happen and sometimes they go and sometimes they come back.”
According to figures from the Central Statistics Office, 553 people had arrived from Ukraine to Offaly by November 6 last.
The figure is based on PPSN applications and comprises 386 in the Tullamore Electoral Area, 105 in the Birr Electoral Area and 62 in the Edenderry Electoral Area.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year, causing the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
In March about 130 people from Ukraine were accommodated in the Central Hotel in Tullamore, plus some 33 more in The Townhouse, High Street, and many others in various locations near the town.
By early April the Outdoor Education Centre in Birr was also being used with 35 people accommodated there in the first phase. They stayed for a number of weeks before being moved to other accommodation, a pattern that continued in Birr during 2022.
Last month the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth confirmed that the former Convent of Mercy in Kilcormac will also be used to accommodate Ukrainians arriving in Ireland.