The Department of Integration has said that international protection applicants who are currently sheltering in damp and leaking tents at a site in Crooksling, Co Dublin, will either be moved indoors or to another site before tonight.
It comes after calls to move hundreds of them indoors before temperatures plummet further.
Videos taken yesterday show damp and cold conditions inside the tents in Crooksling.
Following wind warnings, the men had been moved inside existing buildings on the site but were returned to the tents last week.
In a statement this evening, the department said: “The safety and well-being of residents of our accommodation centres, and in particular this week at Crooksling and other tented sites, is our priority.”
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It added: “Contingency plans to use the buildings on the site as temporary indoor accommodation have been put into action, and all residents will either be moved into the indoor buildings, or to another site, before tonight.
“Our team are on site at Crooksling and will remain in place while we work to ensure people are warm and dry.”
The Department earlier said it was “progressing renovation work on the indoor accommodation at Crooksling”, which was “not yet complete and so the accommodation is not yet suitable for routine use”.
The Irish Refugee Council said that Government-supplied tented accommodation is “fundamentally inappropriate for people seeking international protection to be placed in”.
In a statement, CEO Nick Henderson said: “We have seen footage and received reports, from yesterday, of extremely concerning conditions in Crooksling. Sodden clothes, wet floors and leaking roofs.
“After the rain now comes the cold. This morning we have asked IPAS to move people indoors at least until the cold weather passes.”
Volunteer Olivia Headon wrote to the Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman to express her concern at the conditions.
“Following their move into the building during the last storm, the men were returned to tents last week as temperatures dropped. Reports indicate daytime temperatures in Crooksling are as low as 4C. Small heaters are insufficient to warm the tents, and the risk to health and safety is compounded by the altitude and exposure.
“Despite reports of additional blankets being procured, many men have not received them and remain in soaked clothing. Meanwhile, community volunteers are urgently trying to supply blankets and thermal wear for over 500 men in Crooksling.
“This crisis requires immediate action,” she said.
The Department had earlier said that all IPAS sites providing tented accommodation “have plans in place for adverse weather, including cold weather contingency plans.”
“Tented accommodation is provided in robust, weather proof tents. All IPAS tented accommodation now includes heating inside the tents, and additional bedding and blankets are provided during colder weather.
“In addition, contingency arrangements are in place whereby, in severe weather, people can be moved temporarily to indoor accommodation. For example, during the recent severe winds warnings, residents in tented accommodation at Crooksling in Dublin were moved temporarily to indoor accommodation on the same site.
“The Department is progressing renovation work on the indoor accommodation at Crooksling, this is not yet complete and so the accommodation is not yet suitable for routine use.”
Additional reporting Laura Fletcher
