Cold housing, unsanitary conditions and security fears among complaints of Ukrainian refugees – The Irish Times

Cold accommodation in tents, cramped accommodation, unsanitary conditions, safety and food problems are among the issues raised in 106 complaints of Ukrainian refugees to the Department of Integration over the summer.

Details of the complaints were released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

The department released a summary of a sample of complaints, rather than the actual correspondence, saying it would ensure transparency while preserving the complainant’s right to file complaints in confidence.

Between July and mid-August, a keyword search of the department’s records revealed 106 complaints.

[ ‘I have no place to live or work in Ukraine’: Refugees sleeping on floor of Dublin Airport ]

Searches for the keywords “problem,” “food,” and “cold” yielded a total of 82 complaints found.

The department said it would “endeavor to resolve issues brought to its attention as quickly as possible, given the fact that more than 42,000 people are housed in more than 500 facilities, this is not always possible.”

There were 12 complaints citing “colds,” with the office claiming that one “family living in tented housing. They complain about the cold and dampness in the house. On this basis, they asked to relocate.”

Camp Gormanston in Ca Meath was the only site where tents were used during the summer and the department said the facility is now closed.

The complaint about “overcrowding” came from a mother who was placed by the local authorities together with her children for three weeks in temporary accommodation. A person complained about “unsanitary conditions” in a student dormitory, where the problem was in a shared bathroom.

Elsewhere, the claimant said their room was damp and had a mold problem affecting their asthma and they asked to be moved.

Another applicant claimed that other refugees living in the same place threatened their family and asked them to be moved.

[ Army barracks may be used to house Ukrainian refugees ]

The department said that in such cases, the Ukraine Crisis Temporary Accommodation Team (UCTAT) Incident Unit liaises with applicants and accommodation providers to find a solution where possible. It said that any threats of violence should always be reported to the Gardaí.

Thirty-one complaints related to food. One person living in public housing in a rural area complained about transport problems and the lack of kitchen facilities where they lived, where food was described as “inadequate”.

One working woman lived in a dormitory with her two children and was having difficulty finding private accommodation to move into. She asked the department for advice on finding a place to rent.

Another woman who found work at a cleaning company said she had been told of plans to move to new accommodation and expressed concern that she might lose her job if she was moved.

The department said that when residence contracts expire or if the accommodation was intended for other applicants for international protection, it is necessary to relocate people to other accommodation. “Given the significant number of people who are looking for housing, it is impossible to create individual solutions for individuals,” the message says.

In the notice of complaints, the department reports

: “Serious issues are dealt with by the responsible team. It is not possible to create individual relocations for individuals, given the huge number of people seeking public housing.’