In Ireland, refugees from Ukraine can be evicted from a hotel if they do not pay for food
Ukrainian refugees staying at the Breaffy Woods hotel near Castlebar in Mayo, West Ireland, have expressed their concern over a government order requiring them to pay for their own food.
The hotel has become a place of residence for 333 Ukrainian refugees and 132 applicants for international protection from other countries. However, the Irish government’s decision to introduce a mandatory meal fee of 10 euros per adult and 5 euros per child per day caused resistance among the hotel’s Ukrainian residents.
The Ukrainians sent a letter to the hotel administration expressing their indignation and concern about the new meal fee. They noted that the quality of the food did not meet World Health Organization standards and did not match the price offered. Residents of the hotel believe that this fee is discriminatory, as other residents who are not Ukrainian refugees are not required to pay for food.
The government’s decision also stipulates that migrants who refuse to pay for food may be considered as refusing to accept the accommodation provided and may be required to leave.
Ukrainians living in the Breaffy Woods hotel emphasized that this decision threatens them with eviction if they do not pay for food, in violation of the terms of the EU Temporary Protection Directive for persons displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This decision concerns a significant number of Ukrainian refugees in Ireland, where there are about 85,000 people who have been granted temporary protection after fleeing the Russian invasion.
