As thousands of Ukrainian refugees will be moved from college campuses over the next several weeks, the Tánaiste stated that the government is investigating “all options” to find accommodation for them.
Leo Varadkar said that the government is making every effort to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, with Ireland taking in about 1% of those who have fled the war.
Over 4,000 refugees are sheltered in student housing all over the nation.
When asked what the government is doing to secure housing and accommodations for those who would be moving out in the upcoming weeks, Mr. Varadkar responded that it is “looking at all options.”
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture here,” Mr Varadkar added.
“Europe is at war. There’s a terrible war happening on our continent. Five million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes.
“That’s roughly the entire population of the State and they’ve now been dispersed across Europe, and roughly 1 per cent of them have come to Ireland.
“I believe we’ve an obligation to do our part and to do the best we can to accommodate those people as best we can.
“There isn’t a country in Europe that had 50,000 or 100,000 vacant properties in case of war happened. That’s just not how the world works.
“We’re doing the best we can to accommodate people as best we can in all sorts of different settings, whether it’s rented accommodation, whether it’s hotels and B&Bs, whether it’s modular accommodation, or whether it’s in people’s homes, and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” Mr. Varadkar said.