There will be 20,000 Ukrainian refugees in the State by the end of the month, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has predicted.
The number already in the country will be 10,000 by Sunday with an expected arrival of 900 new refugees into Dublin Airport.
Mr Varadkar has raised the possibility that vacant Army barracks, hotels and B&Bs will be used to house those fleeing the war in their country.
He said the preference would be for refugees to have own-door accommodation, followed by living in other people’s homes and then communal living.
“Accommodation is our biggest challenge and we will be relying very much on hotels and B&B accommodation around the country,” he said.
“We will have to work out other alternatives for accommodation. Shared accommodation isn’t ideal, but it is the best that we can do for now. It’s a fact that we don’t have own-door accommodation for 20,000 people.”
Mr Varadkar visited the Ukrainian reception center at the old terminal building in Dublin Airport on Saturday evening.
When refugees arrive they are registered, given PPS numbers and help with finding accommodation.
He spoke to some Ukrainian refugees, one of whom said she felt like she was living in the pages of a history book; another compared it to a horror movie. “It’s not a horror movie, it’s real and happening in the 21st century Europe,” Mr Varadkar said.
A woman had left her husband and 18-year-old son behind her. Both had signed up to fight the Russians.
The refugees had come to Ireland After a stressful journey but had expressed “enormous relief and hope” at the reception they were getting in Ireland, Mr Varadkar added.
“It is going to be a real challenge to manage this over the next few weeks and months, but we will do the right thing by Ukrainian people who have called to us for their assistance.”
Many had expressed a desire to work in Ireland and their qualifications will be recognized as far as is possible, he stated.
More than 80 per cent of Ukrainian refugees are arriving through Dublin Airport.
There are plans to expand the reception center at Dublin Airport to Cork and Shannon airports too. There will also be a facility in City West HotelMr Varadkar said.
Some 20,000 people in Ireland had registered to offer accommodation including himself and his partner Matt. “Matt registered us three weeks ago. We have a spare room, so we got an acknowledgment,” he said.
“What is happening now that people with a vacant property are being prioritized. Then we will get people who can provide a room. There will be 20,000 people who will be offered accommodation to and I ask people to be patient.”
When asked what he was going to do about rising oil and gas prices, he said the Government had already committed €1 billion to alleviating hardship on people. It would be up to the European Commission to decide what else can be done, but he warned: “I need to be honest with people. The price of energy, petrol and diesel is not set by the Government. It is an international price.”
