A FORMER secondary school in Limerick City is to be part of a tranche of five newly-announced locations across the country to be used to accommodate Ukrainian people fleeing the war at home.
This comes as another building in the city has also been confirmed as an accommodation centre.
The former Salesians building at Fernbank will provide 250 beds for temporary protection seekers from Ukraine.
The official announcement was made by government this past week, but the building has already been the target of protests across the past month for its proposed use to house Ukrainian families.
There will also be a new accommodation centre for refugees in a former pub, most recently used as a B&B in Galbally, County Limerick.
Thomond House, which was on the market at a price of almost €400,000, will become home to a maximum of 33 people in a 24-month contract.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth has written to the owner of the property to outline “its intent to enter into a contract for 24 months from completion of the (re-purposing) works to provide accommodation for a maximum of 33 people”.
The eight-bedroom facility will be self-catering.
No date has yet been announced for the arrival of the Ukrainian families at the former Fernbank school and works on Thomond House are expected to finish in May.
Other centres announced in the tranche are to be located in Cork, Dublin, Laois, and Kildare.
The accommodation centres will offer beds to those fleeing the war in Ukraine for 90 days only, after the government introduced new laws slashing the entitlements afforded to beneficiaries of the temporary protection directive, which gives them the right to live and work in EU member states.
In addition to seeing their accommodation limited to 90 days, new arrivals from Ukraine will be entitled to a reduced weekly allowance of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child for expenses while resident in the designated accommodation centres.
