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Over 60 asylum seekers given tents and sleeping bags

Some 11,971 international protection applicants arrived in Ireland in the year to date, with 361 asylum seekers arriving last week
Barry Whyte
Barry Whyte

00.01 7 Dec 2023


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Over 60 asylum seekers given t...

Over 60 asylum seekers given tents and sleeping bags

Barry Whyte
Barry Whyte

00.01 7 Dec 2023


Share this article


More than 60 male asylum seekers have been given tents and sleeping bags because there is currently no accommodation for them. 

The figures from the Department of Integration come as the number of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Ireland each week remains high.

The most up-to-date figures have been released as the Government continues to struggle to source accommodation.

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In the year to date, figures show that up to last week 11,971 International Protection applicants arrived in Ireland with 361 asylum seekers arriving last week.

Some 360 Ukrainian refugees also arrived here last week, with over 100,000 Ukrainians arriving since the start of the Russian invasion.

In total, 821 refugees and asylum seekers arrived at a time when the Government is struggling to source accommodation.

The Department of Integration has said, as of yesterday, 66 male asylum seekers were given tents and sleeping bags because there is currently no accommodation.

The Irish Refugee Council has previously warned that it is "fundamentally unsafe" for asylum seekers to sleep rough.

A recent ESRI report found that Ireland has seen a significant increase in immigration.

The report noted that 141,600 people arrived in Ireland in the year to April 2023 - a 31% increase from the same period last year.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil in October that there was a limit on the capacity for accommodating refugees and asylum seekers.

Main image: Tents outside the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin, 08/05/2023. Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

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Accommodation Asylum Seekers Department Of Integration International Protection Applicants Refugees Ukrainian Refugees

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