Up to 350 refugees told they must move from Santry hotel where they have been living

Up to 350 people are facing an uncertain future after being told they will be moved from the north Dublin hotel where they are living amid ongoing pressure on the State’s system for accommodating people fleeing to Ireland and seeking protection.

The people, who include international protection applicants, are living in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Northwood in Santry.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) informed the hotel residents that it would “soon no longer be available to IPAS as our contract with the hotel is coming to an end”.

“Unfortunately this means that we will need to accommodate you in another location. The moves to alternative locations will commence shortly and we will be carrying them out over the coming weeks.”

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They were told that “due to the severe pressure on the availability of IPAS accommodation, we will not be in a position to take requests for moves to particular locations”.

“This is because we are simply not able to fulfill these requests, given the overall shortages of accommodation. We will be in touch with individual transfer letters which will confirm the new location where you will be accommodated.”

Sources said that the group was almost entirely composed of International Protection applicants but might also include a small number of beneficiaries of the temporary protection directive who have fled Ukraine.

Margaret Hughes, principal of Our Lady Immaculate school in Darndale, said several children whose families live in the hotel attend there, with some having joined in May or June of this year, followed by more in September.

“They’re lovely children, they’ve come to us and really brought a lot of richness to the school,” she said, describing it as a “really safe place” where the children have settled in. “When we heard the news about it, we were very shocked and disappointed as a school community,” she said.

“It’s traumatic for them, they’ve made friends and settled and found a safe space and now it’s being taken away again.”

In the letter, IPAS said that those with children of school going age would get “any assistance your child may need in relation to school places in your new accommodation.”

“We want to re-iterate our apologies for the disruption that this will cause you but we will work to help to minimise it as much as possible.”