Ukrainian refugees relieved as transfer from Cahersiveen paused

Olivia Kelleher

A Ukrainian woman who has lived at the Skellig Accommodation Centre in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry for the past year has expressed relief after plans to relocate refugees to alternate accommodation was paused.

Eighty Ukrainian refugees at the centre were due to be moved in order to make way for international protection applicants. Around 40 of the Ukrainian refugees were due to be placed in accommodation in Tralee town centre.

Liliia Orevchuk told RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland she is currently undertaking an educational course at the O'Connell centre in Cahersiveen.

"It is very good for me because it is not so far. We are starting to build our life, our new life, here with our two children, my husband and my mother.

"(Cahersiveen) is a quiet place. We have a good school and good people around who are ing us. We started to integrate in this community. People want us to be here, and we also want to be here," she said.

Ms Overchuk explained she received a letter about the planned move to Tralee last Friday.

"It was a really big surprise because my children are at school. We 100 per cent would like to stay in Cahersiveen."

Local resident Stephanie Mahey said Ukrainians who have lived at the centre for the past year are fully integrated in to the local community.

"What we want people to understand is that [they] have been living with us for the past year. They are not just Ukrainians living in a hotel.

"They are our friends, they are a community, they are the local hairdresser, they are the people working behind the till in a shop and they are classmates with our kids.

"We go to each others' birthday party's. They are on the same GAA team and some of them, let me tell you, are going to be great GAA players."

Roots

Ms Mahey said a Ukrainian man at the accommodation centre in Cahersiveen has announced his intention to open a cafe in the town.

"He is going to be providing employment in the place. They (people from the centre) have ed the Tidy Towns. Liliia and myself met through a festival committee when we were organising St Patrick's Day."

She said the letter informing those impacted of the planned move was "wrong on so many levels". "They are the backbone of our workforce now in Cahersiveen. It is emotionally devastating for everybody."

Ms Mahey added that she understands that a crisis in accommodation exists, but said "we have put forward proposals about how we can to try to help everyone as best as we can and how we can make it work".

"We don't know how it makes sense to start again. We have an almost 50 per cent increase in our population. This wasn't easy. It was hard work. Our services are stretched to capacity, but we made it work.

"If this move happens, it will break the spirit of the local community. It seems like the decision was made somewhere at a desk. Made quickly but not taking into consideration all the factors."

In a statement issued on Friday, the Department of Integration said there is a severe shortage of accommodation for international protection applicants and, as such, the Skellig Accommodation Centre in Cahersiveen is required in order to prevent asylum seekers from entering homelessness.

The statement added that it was aware of the impact of such decisions, which it said only take place when absolutely necessary.