Social Affairs

Proposed ‘refugee camp’ for asylum seekers ruled out due to ‘political optics’

Negotiations with property owners about accommodation is leading to ‘higher cost and lower quality’, department says

Tents used by asylum seekers being removed earlier this year from a stretch of the Grand Canal, Dublin. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Tents used by asylum seekers being removed earlier this year from a stretch of the Grand Canal, Dublin. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
Ken Foxe
Fri Oct 18 2024 - 14:36

Officials charged with accommodating asylum seekers in Ireland were in negotiations over “the creation of a refugee camp” to manage a surge in migration but said the “political optics” of it would be poor.

In discussions over their budget, the Department of Children and Equality said every negotiation with property owners about accommodation was leading to “higher cost and lower quality”.

In briefing documents, they said they had discussed the development of a refugee camp with the UN International Organisation for Migration in case they ran out of options. However, officials warned this would be politically sensitive and “the cost very high”.

In a plea for significant extra funding, officials said there was no sign the number of migrants arriving to Ireland was likely to fall over the next three to five years.

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A presentation prepared for the Department of Public Expenditure said a so-called “day rate” system of paying for each bed night in accommodation led to poor value. It also said they were far too reliant on private providers with 90 per cent of asylum applicants housed in that sector and a significant risk of “some withdrawing from the market”.

The warnings were contained in materials sent to the Department of Public Expenditure in advance of last year’s budget. The Department of Children and Equality took almost eight months to release the documents and only did so after an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws.

The key presentation provided warned that the cost of housing international protection applicants was likely to rise above €1 billion by 2029. However, that figure was already exceeded this year as the department’s budget proved insufficient.

The presentation said they were running out of options in finding accommodation in the private sector and “the flow of proposals” from providers was low. It said: “Hoteliers, property owners and developers are either at the full extent of their capacity and/or are unwilling to enter this politically sensitive space.” The briefing said that larger scale “tented camps” were a possibility but were expensive, low quality, vulnerable to weather, unsustainable and “politically unpopular”.

It said the best choice was to develop State-owned land which was more cost effective long-term and provided a higher standard of accommodation.

In other documents, the Department of Children and Equality said there was the possibility of having to pay damages to refugees that were never offered accommodation.

Asked about the records, a spokesman said: “With the significant increase in numbers of applications for international protection in recent years, alongside the arrival of over 109,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine since 2022, accommodation shortages for people seeking international protection have been significant.”

He said an allocation of €1.2 billion had been made in Budget 2025 which would be used to bring into use suitable facilities to provide shelter and safety for asylum applicants. This included the development of prefab and modular units, conversion of commercial buildings, and larger scale accommodation centres, such as those at Thornton Hall in North Dublin.