Numbers dwindling at Kildare Ukrainian accommodation centre
The Punchestown facility used for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees
THE Ukrainian accomodation centre in Punchestown appears to be winding down with only nine remaining occupants recorded last month.
However, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has said that the facility remains in use to provide accommodation for people fleeing the war.
Kildare County Council’s Chief Executive’s Report for June stated that there were only nine occupants of the Punchestown 30-day Designated Accommodation Centre, as of 16 June.
The council’s report further detailed that there were no more arrivals due from the Citywest reception centre and so the Punchestown centre was set to be vacant by 20 June.
Under a government policy brought into force in November of last year, new arrivals from Ukraine have been accommodated in Designated Accommodation Centres (DACs) like Punchestown for a maximum of 30 days.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration told the Kildare Nationalist on Monday that “Punchestown Accommodation Centre in Kildare remains in use by the Department to provide accommodation for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.”
The Punchestown facility is the only remaining 30-day DAC in Kildare. Its’ capacity has been reduced to 285, with only a fraction of the capacity in use as of 16 June.
Department figures how that 189 people with Temporary Protection after fleeing Ukraine were living in five state-funded accommodation centres in Kildare as of 15 June, including 142 adults and 47 children.
The council said that the Ukraine services and accommodation team continues to support residents in finding longer-term accommodation.
The Punchestown facility is one of only two such accommodation centres left in the country along with the 30-day DAC in Wallslough, Kilkenny.
The Department of Justice confirmed that the 30-day DAC in Kill was closed in March and the one in Newhall was closed in April.
The facility in Kill has returned to being a full board DAC accommodating people with Temporary Protection who arrived before March 2024. Newhall will be returned to its original use as farmland, according to the council.
These moves come in the context of the government winding down the system of supports for people fleeing the war.
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy secured new measures in May in relation to Ukrainian citizens with Temporary protection status. These changes include the phased withdrawal of state-contracted commercial accommodation by March 2027.
