‘I offered to house 100 refugees but I heard nothing’
A DONEGAL hotelier has said he could take in 100 Ukrainian refugees immediately but has yet to receive official permission.
Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has already sent a letter to his ministerial colleagues pleading with them to find any usable spaces, such as large community halls, sport centres and arts centres that could be converted into accommodation.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Aidan Farrell, owner of Drumhalla House in Rathmullan, Co. Donegal, said he submitted his application to house Ukrainian refugees in October and received only an acknowledgment, but no follow-up.
‘I got a “thank you for your application” back in October and I haven’t heard a thing since. I spoke to the local authority and they put me on to a county councillor and that all came to nothing.
‘I sent them another email in early January which said I was prepared to keep the accommodation available until the end of January, but at that stage I’m going to have to use it for something else.’
Between his hotel in Rathmullan, where he could house 45 Ukrainians, and some properties he owns in Letterkenny, Mr Farrell said he could accommodate 100 refugees.
‘I could take 100 refugees on Monday and I haven’t heard a thing. I have a big, centrally heated marquee there for wedding receptions. We could put [some of them] in that. Everything is available to them and I heard nothing,’ he said.
Mr Farrell said he is now very frustrated with the process, given the calls from ministers to find more accommodation for the number of refugees arriving in the country.
‘What are these people at?’ he asked. ‘To apply for these things you have to fill out a detailed questionnaire. It is not a five-minute job, it is an hour-and-a-half job. All of that went in and nothing.
‘I have a hotel unit that I haven’t used as a hotel for a long time. It has now been completely refurbished.
‘One of the issues that was causing a problem is that you’d put refugees into a hotel and then you turf them all out because you want your normal tourism business,’ he said.
‘However, I don’t have a normal tourism business, so I am not going to be disadvantaging anybody. I am quite happy to take people in but it is not forthcoming,’ he added.
Late last month, the Department of Integration issued a new application form for commercial offers of accommodation for refugees.
‘I haven’t even had a communication from them, never mind an inspection,’ Mr Farrell said.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Department for Integration said: ‘The department is in ongoing direct communication with a large number of providers offering accommodation on a commercial basis.
‘In considering offers, the department takes into account a range of factors such as accommodation suitability, rates, capacity and amenities. It is not always possible to respond to all offers within the timeframe required by the provider.’