Cabinet ministers sign off on plan to slash welfare rate and put time limit on housing for Ukrainian refugees

The Cabinet Committee on Humanitarian Response to Ukraine has agreed new arrivals would only be permitted to 90 days in state provided accommodation.

While in state-supported housing, they will be given a weekly payment of €38.80 as opposed to be being able to claim €220 in jobseekers’ allowance, which Ukrainians who are currently residing her are entitled to. However, once they leave state accommodation centres, they will be able to claim the full rate of the jobseeker payment.

The coalition leaders will discuss the issue before it is due before cabinet tomorrow morning.

The Irish Red Cross has expressed its concern over the decision to limit state accommodation to newly arrived Ukrainians in Ireland to three months.

The charity warned that forcing Ukrainians into the private accommodation sector would only “increase pressure on a rental sector” it said is “already in crisis” while also “increasing social tensions and resentment towards a migrant group”.

It comes as the Taoiseach today said that “no decisions” have yet been made by the Cabinet on cutting supports for Ukrainian refugees.

Earlier Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that any supports offered to Ukrainian refugees arriving here should match what other European countries offer.

“The basic principle that we’re going to apply is what we offer people fleeing Ukraine in Ireland should be similar to what’s offered in other parts of western Europe.

“In most cases in western Europe people are offered accommodation but not indefinitely. And if you are being provided with accommodation – food, board, lodging, heat, light – by the state, you don’t get the full social welfare payment.” Mr Varadkar said the Cabinet also has to think of the “knock-on effects” of any change, given the housing shortage.

Ukrainian refugees can currently receive €220 in jobseekers’ allowance while looking for work. A subcabinet committee met today to discuss reducing the payment.

In a statement issued this evening, the Irish Red Cross said that few Ukrainians here “have sufficient economic means to enter the rental sector independently”.

It pointed out that HAP is not available to them and the rent allowance scheme is complex to navigate.

It also expressed the concern that a significant number of Ukrainian refugees are women caring for children, and are therefore often limited in the types of employment they can seek to the level necessary to pay rent.

“The proposal does not provide a viable route to accommodation for temporary protection beneficiaries. This is contrary to Ireland’s commitment to and obligations under the EU wide Temporary Protection Directive,” the charity said.

“It is clear that the proposed measure is not intended to manage the accommodation crisis in Ireland but to send a message of deterrence to others thinking of travelling to Ireland. Such an approach is a sledgehammer and other solutions should be found.

“This proposal should not be a solution to the different supports amount EU states. The Irish Government and their EU counterparts should work at an administrative level to harmonise the supports provided.

“The Government has achieved significant success in meeting the needs of several thousand Ukrainians. But more is needed, particularly in exploring alternative forms of accommodation. For example, there are extremely high vacancy rates in office buildings and further exploration of these could yield some results. Further work is needed to repurpose vacant office buildings, and vacant state and religious buildings.”

It continued: “Sudden cuts in supports by government to a vulnerable group will have negative implications and it is critical that any changes in supports is implement in a phased manner, taking account of the adjustments required by the beneficiary.”

Speaking earlier, Mr Varadkar said he was proud the country had welcomed approximately 100,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Asked if the decision to offer €220 per week in jobseekers’ allowance to Ukrainian refugees was a mistake, Mr Varadkar said: “I really don’t think so. We managed to welcome about 100,000 people from Ukraine to Ireland and I’m proud of the country that we managed to do that.

“Irish people have to travel all over the world for all sorts of reasons and received a welcome in the countries that we went to, and I’m glad that we were able to do this, on this occasion, for the people of Ukraine.”

Mr Varadkar said it was not about being able to afford the payment but rather about a “deficit” in accommodation. “We don’t want to be in a position whereby we’re saying to people we have nowhere for you to stay, but we are in a very difficult situation now and the priority will be to look after women and children and people who have particular vulnerabilities and particular needs.” He said all applicants are “fully vetted”.

“Contrary to some things I hear being said, of course, before anyone is granted leave to stay in Ireland they are fully vetted. Fingerprints are taken so we can cross-check them for having been in other countries, lots of things are done that maybe people don’t realise but, you know, everyone is a person and there’s a basic standard of human dignity that we try to apply in all cases.”

Today’s News in 90 Seconds – December 11th

Mr Varadkar said people fleeing to Ireland are “suffering in a way we can almost not imagine” as he said other countries’ “tough talk” had not reduced refugee numbers.

“Let’s not forget that, whether it’s people fleeing the war in Ukraine or people fleeing wars in other parts of the world, they don’t have any homes at all. Their homes are long gone, their schools are gone. They are going to keep coming here and we need to be realistic and honest with people about that.

“I’ve seen governments all around the world talk tough about migration – leave the European Union, build walls and fences, put children in cages, separate them from their families, it hasn’t stopped the numbers coming.

“We live in a very dangerous world where hundreds of millions of people are on the move and we’re very lucky and very privileged to live in a country like Ireland where people are safe and most people have homes, schools, hospitals and services to go to. We should never forget that.”