Ukrainians raise poor conditions at some refugee centres

Poor quality food, overcrowding, damp and mouldy conditions and concerns over the safety of children were all highlighted in a survey of Ukrainians living in State accommodation.

Since the invasion by Russia more than two years ago, 50,000 Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection have been put up in centres in Ireland.

A survey was carried out by Doras, a refugee and migrant rights organisation, to gauge their living conditions.

The survey had 989 respondents and found that 60% of people in serviced accommodation rated the quality of meals provided as “very poor” or “poor”.

There were reports of undercooked or rotten food in two centres and worms and maggots discovered in food in one centre.

There were also cases of food poisoning in three centres, rats or mice in six centres and 43 accommodation centres that had no transport links.

According to the survey, one in three rated the overall quality of their accommodation as “very poor” or “poor” while one in six had concerns regarding the safety of children.

One in four reported not having appropriate accommodation and/or inadequate supports for people with additional needs while one in three said there was no complaints mechanism.

One respondent said they lived with nine other men in a single room, while another told how 11 had to share a toilet and shower.

Another said: “There are 80 people in one hall all together, women, children and men. The showers are very dirty and in a terrible condition.

“The centre is like a prison, only we could not understand what we did to get into such a horror.”

Another respondent told of “drunken bar patrons and drug addicts” using the same toilets as their children, while there were reports of people going without heating and hot water for months, while several reported mouldy and damp accommodation.

However, some providers are “doing good” too, according to the survey, which also highlighted a lot of gratitude and appreciation from the Ukrainians towards Irish people, volunteers and communities that are supporting them.

Speaking to RTÉ News, Doras CEO John Lannon said: “We have been working on the ground with people living in Direct Provision for the past 20 years, so we have seen how institutionalised living can negatively affect the mental and physical health of adults and children.

“Our new research on the experiences of Ukrainians living in State-provided accommodation paints a worrying, but not surprising, picture.

“While a significant portion of those surveyed were very happy with their living conditions, we can see from the findings that the quality of service provision varies greatly from centre to centre,” he said.

“There’s also a lot of gratitude and appreciation from the Ukrainians towards Irish people, volunteers and communities that are supporting them and that’s why we urgently need national standards to help ensure consistency in the quality of service provided,” Mr Moran added.

He said the charity is calling on the Department of Integration to “urgently implement three main actions: mandatory compliance with the Children First Act 2015 to safeguard children, mandatory garda vetting for all staff working in accommodation centres, and compulsory training to all staff in those centres on trauma-informed practice and intercultural awareness”.

A spokesperson for the Department of Integration said it “engages with relevant NGOs on all issues on a regular basis and has asked NGOs to bring any issues with accommodation to its attention”.

“All providers are expected to meet detailed contractual standards which are prescribed by it and covers issues including space, food and accommodation quality,” they said.

“The Department has in place a proactive and reactive inspection service who inspect providers nationwide and a dedicated compliance team who investigates all issues brought to its attention with a view to regularise or terminate.

“The Department continues to end contracts weekly where providers do not meet our expected standards. With a focus on compliance and consolidation given reduced demand for state accommodation, the Department will end over 68 contracts between now and end September,” the spokesperson added.