Red Cross not properly handling accommodation for refugees, claims Cllr

A local councillor criticised the Red Cross for not properly handling the accommodation for Ukrainian refugees, during a recent Nenagh Municipal District meeting.

Cllr Michael O'Meara said there's a “bit of a vacuum with the situation at the moment, a lack of contact. I don't know what the Red Cross are doing. I know one Ukrainian woman and her child who are in accommodation but it's not suitable for their needs. It's very hard, if not impossible, to sort out this situation. This unsatisfactory state of affairs has been going on for months. It is very frustrating. What I think is going on is that the Red Cross has washed its hands of these matters.”

Cllr Seamus Morris agreed. He said he knows a person in Nenagh “who has told the Red Cross that he has 16 units which could be used for Ukrainian refugees but there hasn't been one response from the powers that be. My own brother is putting up a family of five without any funding for it and the family want their own place. At the moment refugees are being housed in hotels, B&B, student accommodation. These are fine as temporary measures but they are not good enough as long-term solutions.”

A housing officer in the Council Executive told the councillors that a number of staff in the County Council's housing section are dealing with the Ukrainian refugee accommodation matter. He told the councillors to please contact the housing section in Clonmel regarding any queries on the matter.