Ireland’s migration mayhem — and the buck stops nowhere

Jan 11, 2024

The "whole of government" response to the migrants crisis continues to fall short on its housing initiatives, with tents still lining the street outside the International Protection Office (IPO) in Mount Street, Dublin, and more than 200 people left unaccommodated.

A number of experts and refugee advocacy groups have also raised concerns that the authorities are not moving from an emergency mentality on dealing with the crisis to providing sustainable solutions and the country's significant volume of vacant housing stock is not being utilised enough. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is bearing the brunt of a precarious workload with little formal experience in housing.

Multiple departments are heading up different accommodation streams. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is taking the