Over 1,200 Ukrainian refugees living in pledged accommodation in Mayo

THE number of Ukrainian refugees living in accommodation pledged by the public has risen to over 1,200.

As of June 2, there were 1,235 Ukrainian refugees living in Mayo with hosts in receipt of the €800 monthly Accommodation Recognition Payment.

There are now 26,094 Ukrainian refugees living with 11,409 hosts in receipt of the payment across the state. Mayo is accommodating the sixth-highest total number of Ukrainians in pledged accommodation of all 26 counties.

According to CSO’s latest Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland Series, a total of 4,795 PPS numbers have been given to Ukrainian refugees with Mayo addresses since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Over half of those have been accommodated in the Castlebar (1,314) and Westport (1,272) local electoral areas, with the rest addressed in Ballina (860), Claremorris (682), Belmullet (422) and Swinford (245).

Westport has accommodated the seventh-highest percentage of Ukrainian refugees of any local electoral area in the country in relation to its population (6.38 percent).

The number of Ukrainian refugees (Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection) living in state-provided accommodation in Mayo continues to fall.

As of June 18, 2,139 Ukrainian refugees in Mayo were in receipt of state accommodation,, a drop of over 200 on the 2,342 being accommodated last month.

State accommodation is now limited to 90 days for new arrivals, who are entitled to a weekly payment of €38.80.

A large number of Ukrainians in Westport are currently sourcing new accommodation as Hotel Westport is due to end its contract to accommodate refugees.

The hotel is due to undergo extensive renovations - which were first announced in 2021 - which will involve the partial demolition of the existing building.

The 129-bed hotel first started accommodating Ukrainian refugees in October 2022.

Judy Casey, co-founder of Westport Welcomes Ukraine, said that many local households have availed of the Accommodation Recognition Payment by offering rooms or apartments in recent weeks.

“A lot of these families are working locally and children in school so they are very grateful for this opportunity,” Ms Casey told The Mayo News. 

“The majority of Hotel Westport residents are being sent to Cork, Kerry, Wexford, Meath and Longford, with some staying in other Mayo towns. We are still hoping to find rooms or houses for those who are working here.”