Why it is not so easy to give refugees a home

So financial, material and practical donations from cash to children’s shoes were never an option and will continue. It’s heartwarming and reassuring to see the response from both government and citizens to this latest crisis, and if ‘War Spirit’ is something that could be bottled, we’d certainly have a head start on the flavor.

It was probably no surprise then that tens of thousands came forward when shelter was demanded for thousands of persecuted people who were due to arrive by plane, boat or car – mostly innocent women and children fleeing their countries.

Surely we could repurpose the spare bedroom, free up space at the kitchen table, and get neighbors to help with eating and dressing. Anyone able to have a few extras for dinner or enroll a child in school for a few weeks would have little trouble doing this.

Even some TDs helped out. But now the unanswerable question arises: for how much longer?

The 24,000 people making offers initially flooded hotlines and websites, along with the deluge of virtue signals Facebook Pages and WhatsApp groups (We’re taking in a Ukrainian family. Please help by giving us loads of stuff for them!) proved oddly persistent when authorities tried to get in touch. More than half of the apartment promises “did not come about”, were actively withdrawn or did not answer the phone.

In some cases, families that had persevered, rather embarrassingly “returned” their new guests to the mass detention centers after finding the whole experience unsustainable. The reality of opening your home up for months, for many months instead of a few short weeks, looks very different when you put it around.

Even Minister of Justice Helen McEnteewhose summary this is, found that their home was no longer “suitable” for a war-ravaged family.

How many would think otherwise when a financial carrot was dangling, as it seems to be the case now? Would €400 a month be enough for you? Would you spend more on energy, groceries and transportation if a family of four found themselves in your attic? Or is it an insult to your generosity? Or that of the family who lives with you?

There are now around 8,000 vacant apartments belonging to people in nursing homes; many multiples of which are understaffed as holiday homes for much of the year. We have colleges with huge blocks of flats available through September. What would motivate you to free up space? Why should they?

Or should they be forced to do so in the national interest?

what would it take for you For me?

I don’t know the answer, but for once I’m sure it’s not about money.