Latest news with #AccommodationRecognitionPayment
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Changes in housing support creating ‘frightening situation' for Ukrainian families
The Government's push to move Ukrainian refugees out of State-run accommodation and into private rental housing has created a 'frightening situation' for families who came to Ireland seeking safety, advocacy groups have warned. The State's reduction of the monthly Accommodation Recognition Payment for those hosting Ukrainians makes it 'even more difficult for these families to find independent housing', Fiona Hurley, chief executive of Nasc, the Migrant & Refugee Rights Centre, has warned. From July 8th, recipients of the ARP will see the payment, which is made in arrears, drop to €600 for the first time. What was previously an €800 monthly payment 'made it more feasible for families' to move on from State accommodation and find a place to live, said Ms Hurley. 'A lot of families see no pathway into housing now, the ARP was really their only opportunity.' READ MORE The ARP is a tax-free monthly State payment for homeowners who provide accommodation to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Introduced in 2022, the payment was originally set at €400 before increasing to €800 later that year. In June 2025, the payment officially dropped to €600. Undermining community goodwill in the name of budgetary optics or political positioning is a short-sighted move There are 80,031 Ukrainians living in the State under the European Union's Temporary Protection directive, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. Of these, 39,734 people, including nearly 8,800 children, are being hosted by 17,097 Irish homeowners in receipt of the ARP. Dublin is home to the highest number of hosts receiving the ARP followed by Counties Donegal, Cork, Kerry and Mayo. The number of private properties used to house Ukrainian arrivals through the scheme has risen steadily, from 19,222 in January to 21,790 in June. Despite this increase, civil society groups are preparing for a drop in hosting opportunities once the reduced payment reaches people's bank accounts this week. Brian Killoran, national coordinator of the Ukraine Civil Society Forum, says local authorities have warned that up to one-fifth of hosts in some parts of the country may 'disengage'. 'Hosting has provided an alternative to accommodation centres, but if you get a 20 per cent reduction across the board, where do these people go?' said Mr Killoran. Reducing the payment is 'counter-productive to the overall aim of continuing accommodation for those displaced by war', he added. The number of private properties used to house Ukrainian arrivals through the scheme has risen steadily 'The temporary protection directive has been extended until 2027, but there's still a huge question mark around Ukrainians' accommodation and integration.' The Government's failure to mention Ukrainian refugees in its programme for Government is 'staggering', says Mr Killoran. 'The war in Ukraine is still very much a live issue. It's in our interest to provide a clear pathway for integration to the Ukrainian community in Ireland.' A Department of Justice spokesman said Ukrainian refugees could request the support of the Irish Red Cross or their local authority when a hosting arrangement comes to an end. 'If an accommodation solution cannot be found locally, Ukrainian beneficiaries may present at Citywest Transit Hub where a new offer of State -supported emergency accommodation may be made based on their circumstances, and subject to availability,' he said. More than 100 Ukrainians seeking protection continue to arrive in Ireland each week – 114 arrived during the final week of May, and 153 arrived during the first week of June. Meanwhile, the Government has announced plans to relocate nearly 2,500 Ukrainians living in more than 70 State-provided accommodation units between now and December. These housing contracts have been terminated for various reasons, including a 'reduced need overall', so they can be returned to 'tourism, student or private use', according to a statement on the Department of Justice website. From July 8th, recipients of the ARP will see the payment, which is made in arrears, drop to €600 for the first time Desmond Moore, who is hosting a Ukrainian woman and her two sons in a flat connected to his home outside Gorey, Co Wexford, said the ARP cut is 'short-sighted' and 'disrespectful' to hosts. It also risks pushing Ukrainian families into homelessness, which will force the State to spend more money, he added. An ARP means test could be introduced to offer lower support payments to Ukrainians in employment who can afford to pay rent, said Mr Moore. ARP payments could also be tiered based on average regional rents, while the State could introduce a parallel scheme for landlords renting to social housing or low income tenants 'so that Irish citizens get the same benefits', he added. Mr Moore and his wife will not be asking their Ukrainian guests to leave once the payment goes down. However, he is concerned that other hosts with lower incomes will be forced to ask Ukrainians to leave. Those who signed up to the programme for financial reasons may also step away, he adds. 'Ireland's humanitarian response has been largely successful because it has relied on community goodwill,' said Mr Moore. 'Undermining that goodwill in the name of budgetary optics or political positioning is a short-sighted move with potentially long-lasting consequences.'
Irish Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Buses and taxis for international protection applicants cost €12 million
More than €12 million has been spent transporting international protection applicants to accommodation centres throughout the country since February 2022, new figures have revealed. The cost relates to bus and taxi services used to transport asylum seekers from their point of arrival in the country to accommodation centres. More than 89,500 beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTPs) have been provided with accommodation by the state during the period. Almost 24,300 of those are currently in state-supported accommodation, while around 38,000 are in accommodation with hosts in receipt of the Accommodation Recognition Payment. A total of €4.12 million was spent on transport for BOTPs in 2022 following the activation of the EU Temporary Protection Directive in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The directive places obligations on EU member states regarding services and entitlements that must be provided to those seeking temporary protection. The transportation bill increased to a peak of €4.75 million during 2023, but fell significantly to €2.43 million last year. A further €770,000 has been spent on buses and taxis for BOTPs to date in 2025. The figures were published by Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan in response to a parliamentary question from independent TD Carol Nolan this week. 'The Irish State and the Irish people have responded with exceptional support and generosity since 2022 in supporting people seeking temporary protection here from the war in Ukraine,' he said. A total of 116,040 people have been granted temporary protection in Ireland since 2022, which Mr O'Callaghan said was 'an important demonstration' of solidarity with Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. '[BOTPs] hold temporary permission to remain in Ireland, and this permission is renewable on an annual basis as long as the directive remains in force,' he explained. 'Under the directive, those fleeing the war against Ukraine are entitled to apply for temporary protection in any member state and to move from one member state to another.' The Department of Justice is currently in the process of renewing BOTPs' permission to remain, requiring applicants to prove that they are currently residing in Ireland. 'It is envisaged that this project will be concluded later this year and, once completed, I will be in a position to outline the total number of BOTPs who are currently resident in the state,' said Mr O'Callaghan. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has estimated that around 75 percent of those granted temporary protection are still in the country, based on activity associated with their PPS numbers.
Extra.ie
14-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Cuts to pay for housing refugees will cost the state more
Cuts to payments for pledged accommodation for Ukrainian refugees mean the State may have to pay millions more to house them in hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. Internal documents obtained by show officials in the Department of Public Expenditure are concerned about the knock-on effects from cutting the monthly payment from €800 to €600 in February. In a memo prepared for Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, they warned that 'there is a risk this could undermine ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on expensive commercial accommodation'. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Integration Minister Norma Foley wrote to Mr Chambers in February seeking to reduce the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP), a cut that takes effect from June. Ms Foley said the reduction sought to 'balance' maintaining the scheme 'while minimising interference with the private rental market'. She added: 'Reducing the payment will facilitate winding down the scheme in an orderly way in advance of the Temporary Protection Directive [which is due to lapse in March 2026]. 'I believe this approach will help to manage expectations of pledgers, BOTPs [Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection] and NGOs supporting them.' No business case was provided by Ms Foley to support the decision. An estimate of the savings associated with the change was requested by Department of Public Expenditure officials, but none was provided. Pic: Shutterstock The officials provided their own high-level analysis of three potential scenarios for Mr Chambers, telling him over 1,000 people each month had been added to the scheme in the past year. 'There is clearly very strong demand for the scheme. It may be the case that the 25% cut will have a limited impact, particularly when it will still remain above the initial rate of €400,' they wrote. In a scenario where the cut resulted in a 10% drop in additional people availing of the ARP each month from April, it would cost an extra € 7 million by the end of the year. This would amount to a rise of 100 people in commercial accommodation who otherwise would have been in pledged accommodation. In the second scenario, where 25% fewer additional people availed of the scheme, it would cost € 18 million more by the end of 2024. In the final scenario, which assumed a flatline of people in the ARP, this could lead to an increase in cost of € 76 million. Pic: Shutterstock However, the officials noted that 'this seems somewhat unlikely given the demand for the scheme to date'. The official noted work to reduce Ukrainians in commercial accommodation since October meant the fallout from the monthly rate cut could be met in the existing budget. The note says the Department of Integration told them a political 'consensus' was reached after discussions between Ms Foley, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister of State at the Department of Justice Colm Brophy. Asked for their view on the impact of the measure, Department of Integration officials said they believed there would be an impact but it was 'impossible to quantify'. 'Some host applicants may close their applications and BOTPs will need to move elsewhere,' they wrote. Pic: Getty Images The officials conceded there would be a 'significant cost' if there was a reduction in the level of pledged accommodation, and Ukrainians had to find accommodation in the 'already straitened private rental market or seek to secure State contracted accommodation'. 'If the latter was to transpire, this would result in significant additional costs and may be at variance with the department's intended policy,' they wrote. The Integration Department suggested Ukrainians could make a 'top-up' payment to their hosts to bridge the gap rather than have the tenancy terminated, but this was 'between the parties themselves'. 'It should also be noted that pledged properties (many of which would fall under ARP) provide a valuable exit mechanism from the 90-day Designated Accommodation Centres for BOTPs who arrived post March 2024, and who are not entitled to State-contracted accommodation,' the officials also wrote. The memo says that between July 2022 and December 2024, around € 364 million was paid out via the scheme, with € 141 million of this in 2024. In comparison, the Department of Integration spent € 1.143 billion on its Ukraine response in 2024, with the biggest driver being commercial/ serviced accommodation. As of February 18, 2025, there were 26,937 Ukrainians in commercial/received accommodation (e.g. hotels and guesthouses). This is down from a peak of 59,000 in November 2023. In response to Ms Foley's request, Mr Chambers said he consented to the reduction, but that an analysis of the impacts needed to be undertaken. 'I would highlight the potential risk of this proposal possibly reducing the number of Ukrainians moving out of commercial accommodation, which is significantly more expensive per night,' he wrote. Former integration minister Roderic O'Gorman told 'These documents from [Public Expenditure] show the lack of a clear economic rationale for the decision to reduce the recognition payment, which keeps thousands of Ukrainians out of directly provided State accommodation, which we know is far more expensive.' A Department of Justice spokesman said: 'Although the reduction has been flagged for some months, the number of ARP applications has continued to increase. As of May 11, 2025, there are active claims in payment for over 21,000 properties, an increase from some 19,800 at the end of February.'
