Mr. Eoghan O'Mara Walsh:

That county-by-county breakdown is, as Mr. Kelly said, available from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and I am sure he will share it. It makes for very interesting reading, even alarming reading if you are looking at it from a tourism perspective. For example, in County Kerry more than 35% of beds are currently contracted. In Donegal the figure is more than 50%. Our central point is that this is the current situation. It is winter in Ukraine and the bombings continue, it is a cold, harsh winter and refugees will continue to come, as will international asylum seekers. Our big concern is that, it is the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth that is managing it and its first concern is just to get a bed and a roof over the heads of refugees. However unless there is a whole-of-government approach and a real, proper comprehensive plan in this regard, the danger is that more and more tourism beds will be sucked into the system and there will be ever fewer tourism beds available for the tourism economy. That has consequences which we have talked about. In the summer next year if there is not a tourism season in Killarney, or Westport or in Donegal or wherever, that impacts on the local economy, on livelihoods and so on.

There will be great dissatisfaction. It is an important issue. It is difficult to articulate and talk about because we want to be as generous and welcoming as possible to these people. There needs to be a comprehensive plan about how they will be housed, not just now but over the next two years. That is at least how long this crisis will be with us. It is a critical issue. I am trying to be constructive about it rather than alarmist. The industry and the hotel sector are happy to play their part, but we cannot be the sole accommodation provider for refugees and asylum seekers. The approach has to be much more balanced. The summer season, which is really from March onwards, will be upon us before we know it.