Waterford Council say they are not in a position to accept any significant number of arrivals from Ukraine at present, as their centres are currently at capacity.
Over 1,000 refugees have arrived in County Waterford since the beginning of war with Russia earlier this year.
Speaking to WLR News, Waterford Council Housing Director, Ivan Grimes outlined the lie of the land locally - and spoke of plans to establish another centre in Waterford City in the coming weeks.
“Well, in recent weeks - we haven’t been taking in any significant numbers of new refugees because we’ve reached capacity in the centres that we’re operating. Having said that, we’re hoping to open a new centre in the city with the capacity for 55-60 refugees at the start of August. We’ll be taking additional refugees from Citywest.”
In terms of sourcing pledged properties, that process has been running smoothly - and many of those who had originally been placed in temporary accommodation have now found more viable long term solutions.
“We’re also in the process of moving people who are already in the centres into pledged properties and other long term properties. By the end of this week, we’ll have moved 120 families in total, who would have initially been accommodated in the refugee centres - just over 300 people will have been moved into these properties. That will free up capacity within our existing centres and we’ll start to accept refugees as requested by the Department.”
This week has seen 150 refugees moved from Citywest, Dublin to tented accommodation at an army base in Gormanstown, Meath. Mr. Grimes says while at one point, the prospect of tented accommodation may have seemed like a possibility down the line given the large number of arrivals - it is very unlikely that this will happen locally.
“Unfortunately, that is already happening in Gormanstown. It’s not really an option that we’ve considered here in Waterford. A comment about it was made at a council meeting just to highlight the fact that it may have been a possibility given the scale of the conflict in Ukraine and the volume of refugees arriving here. Obviously, we’re doing everything to avoid that.”
The local authority director also praised the efforts of people in Waterford in integrating Ukrainian people into communities - particularly sports clubs, who have been very welcoming toward children.
He noted that currently, efforts are being concentrated upon determining the suitability of pledged accommodation, moving people out of centres, and thus freeing up capacity for any further influxes.
Mr. Grimes reiterated that none of the Council’s own housing stock or any student accommodation in Waterford are currently being used to house Ukrainian refugees - and described the situation as everchanging. He says it is hoped that a further centre can be opened in August, but there will come a day where local authorities run out of options.
For all the latest in Waterford, go to WLR News.
