More than 200 single male asylum seekers sleeping rough after accommodation runs out

More than 200 single male asylum seekers are on the streets of Ireland after the announcement that there was no more official accommodation to be had, other than for families, women and children.

A total of 207 international protection applicants have not been offered any State accommodation since December 4, the Department of Integration confirmed.

There were originally 229 who weren’t initially offered any shelter when they presented to the international protection office in Mount Street, Dublin, but 22 of them have since accepted official accommodation offers.

Another 28 IP applicants — as distinct from Ukrainian refugees — indicated when presenting to officialdom that they did not require accommodation. This makes up the 257 who presented in total after Ireland officially indicated that no more space was available.

The Department of Integration says it is now trying to work with homeless services and Gardaí in relation to asylum seekers who are sleeping rough. It is also directing applicants to charities Mendicity and Lighthouse for food, clothing and sleeping bags.

Meanwhile, almost one in eight of all registered tourist beds are now being used by the Government to house Ukrainian refugees and other international protection applicants, according to a new report.

Fáilte Ireland has estimated that the tourism revenue at risk from guest accommodation being under contract to the Government could be as high as €1.1 billion.

It calculated that the minimum impact of “displaced bed stock” for the tourism sector is €750 million.

A new report published by Fáilte Ireland shows that more than one in five of all tourist beds in three counties – Clare, Meath and Mayo – is being used by a refugee or asylum seeker.

The proportion is highest in Clare where one-third of all registered tourist accommodation is closed off to foreign and domestic tourists.

It is followed by Meath (26pc), Mayo (20pc), Wicklow (19pc) and Offaly (18pc).

Nationally, an average of 12pc of all tourist bed stock in registered premises is unavailable for tourists – down 1 percentage point since the summer.

However, Fáilte Ireland said the 12pc average figure may understate the “on-the-ground impact.”

“For every Fáilte Ireland registered bed under contract, there is up to one more contracted bed in unregistered tourism relevant sites,” it explained.

The latest figures show that 10pc of all tourist beds in Dublin are under contract to the Government.

The share of beds out of use for tourism purposes in the other main cities is 12% in Cork and 8pc in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

The availability of tourist accommodation is least impacted in Kildare where only 2pc of tourist bed stock is being used to house refugees and asylum seekers.

Other counties where less than 10pc of normal tourist beds are unavailable include Roscommon, Monaghan, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary.

The latest figures show the overall number of government-contracted beds in the Republic has risen by 11pc in the past six months to 84,497 – an increase of almost 8,400.

The figures are based on data provided by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Tourism leaders have expressed concern about the impact on the sector of housing large numbers of individuals fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and others seeking international protection.

However, only 31 of the additional 8,354 beds placed under contract since the summer are in Fáilte Ireland registered properties.

The report reveals that 35pc of all contracted beds are in premises normally providing tourist accommodation with the vast majority in hotels and guesthouses – a total of 29,586 beds.

Fáilte Ireland calculates that the economic loss of the unavailability of beds in registered tourist accommodation alone is €750 million.

However, Fáilte Ireland said up to 28,000 of almost 55,000 contracted beds in non-registered properties are in establishments which could be tourism related such as former hotels, inns, lodges and retreat centres as well as unlisted guesthouses and B&Bs.

It claimed such figures highlighted “the need for and importance of a fully inclusive register of all tourist accommodation stock.”

In May, a separate analysis prepared for the Government suggested hotel bed shortages arising out of the need to secure accommodation for refugees had led to 10,000 tourism jobs being displaced across the country.

It revealed that the greatest impact was being felt in popular tourist destinations like Killarney, Westport, Tralee and Bundoran.

In March, Fáilte Ireland chief executive, Paul Kelly, warned that housing Ukrainians fleeing the invasion of their country by Russia and international protection applicants in Irish hotels was not a good solution in the long-term.

Mr Kelly expressed concern that the shortage of hotel beds was causing severe affordability issues that was endangering Ireland’s reputation as a tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors.

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