Just 15 of 351 properties offered for Ukrainian refugees now occupied

Donegal County Council has said 40 properties pledged to it for Ukrainian refugees are occupied or available for occupation.

Department of Integration figures made available this week show the local authority had utilised just five of 351 pledges it received as of September 2 and 86 were withdrawn. Of those received, 341 had been reviewed.

But the council has said that of the pledges it has received 15 units are now occupied and a further 25 units are available for immediate occupation.

The council said it has worked through the vacant properties that have been pledged and approximately 70% of these have either been withdrawn or are no longer available.

The local authority said 3,200 Ukrainian refugees are accommodated in various locations throughout Donegal as of September 2.

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'Doing nothing is not an option. The Irish Government needs to act now.'

It said it is continuing to work through the pledges received in consultation with the Irish Red Cross, the implementing partner for accommodating refugees in the county.

“Donegal County Council continues to work with the implementing partners to move refugees into suitable pledged accommodation,” it said.

The data from the Department of Integration shows a total of 1,440 accommodation pledges of 9,708 sent to local authorities have been taken up or are in the process of being occupied.