By Michelle Crean and Sean Moriarty

Up to 400 direct provision residents have been given formal notice to leave their accommodation in Hotel Killarney later this month.

The move is being made as the hotel returns back to tourist accommodation for the summer season but it's believed that up to 20 families with children who are settled in schools in the town may have to leave the county if no alternative local accommodation is found.

The residents received letters from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) this week.

The department also confirmed to the Killarney Advertiser that "intensive efforts are being undertaken" by staff in DCEDIY "to source emergency accommodation".

"However, procuring enough bed space to keep pace with incoming arrivals remains extremely challenging, leading to very significant shortages. The residents themselves will be the first to know where they are moving to and IPAS will work closely with the residents to minimise the disruption," a spokesperson told the Killarney Advertiser.

The arrival and stay at the hotel was not without controversy. Ukrainians fleeing the war in their home country were previously housed in Hotel Killarney but last October were given just 48 hours to pack up and leave the county after being told they'd be transferred to Westport, County Mayo.

After a public local outcry, the decision to move them from Kerry was reversed and Ukrainians were housed in various hotels across the town.

International Protection Applicants were then moved in and on New Year’s day five men were stabbed in the hotel, four of them requiring hospital treatment. Four people were arrested and some of them were moved to other direct provision centres in an effort to restore peace at the hotel.

The issue was also up for discussion at Wednesday’s Killarney Municipal District meeting by Cllr John O’Donoghue.

“I will choose my words very carefully as again I realise this is a sensitive issue,” he said.

“The upcoming tourist season is almost upon us and there are people living in hotels within our town who know their current accommodation will not be available before long, yet they have not been provided with alternative lodging. Many of these people have already experienced huge upheaval in their lives and arrived here as displaced people seeking refuge. With my education hat on, I see the positive contribution being made by many of our new arrivals in places like our schools, but many now do not know if they will now be forced to move to new schools and begin the process of integrating all over again. For schools planning for next year, they are also being left in limbo as they cannot be sure how many pupils they will have for the coming school year. I am not laying the blame for this uncertainty at the door of the Council, as they are not in charge of such matters, rather it is the lack of any form of long term planning or direction from the Government and Government agencies that is the problem and I would like us to seek clarity immediately. The current situation is grossly unfair on all parties involved.

"The Council has not been advised of any specific plans by Government to seek alternative accommodation for those currently residing in hotel accommodation,” a Council official said.