TENS OF THOUSANDS of Ukrainians living in Ireland could lose their accommodation if the new government doesn’t extend a scheme which pays people who provide housing for them, a group of NGOs has warned.
The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) is a tax-free payment of €800 per month for each property used to provide accommodation to refugees from Ukraine.
The scheme, which was introduced after the war broke out in Ukraine in 2022, is due to end on 31 March unless it is extended. It was part of a range of measures brought in by the previous government as it struggled to find housing for Ukrainians and other people who arrived here.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, around 113,600 Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection in Ireland. Some people have returned home but around 85,000 Ukrainians remain, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The Ukraine Civil Society Forum said almost 35,500 Ukrainians are currently being housed by 19,000 hosts who benefit from the ARP scheme and, if it’s not extended, they could lose their accommodation.
The forum, which comprises a number of NGOs and other groups, said the lack of clarity around the future of the scheme has “created significant anxiety and uncertainty for both hosts and guests”.
Already we have multiple reports of people being asked to move out due to the uncertainty around the payment.
The Temporary Protection Directive, an EU law that deals with a ‘mass influx’ of people in need of international protection, was first activated by Ireland in March 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine. It has been extended to March 2026.
However, many people are struggling to find or keep accommodation. In recent weeks, Ukrainians have expressed shock over plans to move them from their current accommodation. In some cases, people said they were given less than a month’s notice to relocate.
Ukainians living here can apply for certain social welfare payments, but they cannot access the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
One Ukrainian woman who is currently being hosted by a person in receipt of the ARP in Dublin said she fears what will happen if the programme ends.
“I don’t know what will happen to me and my son. We have already lost our home once,” she said.
“My son loves his school and has great friends. I am working and beginning to feel alive again.”
The woman said she “cannot express how important the support of the Irish people and government has been”.
You gave us safety and a chance to live, to lose this lifeline will be devastating.
Brian Killoran, CEO of the Immigrant Council which is part of the forum, said it is “deplorable that people who are already traumatised by their circumstances are left in a situation of not knowing”.
Killoran called on the new Minister of State for Migration, Colm Brophy, to “address this uncertainty as a matter of urgency and give Ukrainian refugees – and their hosts – peace of mind”.
“Or are we to see up to 36,000 become homeless?”
In a letter sent to Brophy on 30 January, and seen by The Journal, Emma Lane-Spollen of the Ukraine Civil Society Forum said the uncertainty over the future of the ARP scheme is “creating widespread anxiety, uncertainty and distress”.
People are panicking and we are already hearing reports of hosts asking guests to leave.
“Unlike Irish citizens, Ukrainian refugees do not have access to HAP or homeless services, leaving them with nowhere to turn.”
She urged Brophy to “prioritise an immediate decision to extend the ARP to prevent a crisis”.
Brophy was appointed a junior minister at the Department of Justice earlier this week. The forum has also written to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Minister for Children Norma Foley.
When asked for comment about the ARP scheme, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said responsibility for the scheme still rests with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The money is paid via the Department of Social Protection.
The migration portfolio was under the remit of the Department of Integration in the previous government, but will once again be under the remit of the Department of Justice in the new government.
The Justice spokesperson noted that the new Programme for Government “commits to the establishment of a new Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration”, including the return of responsibility for international-protection accommodation and integration.
“At present, these responsibilities remain with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth,” they told The Journal via a statement.
“The two departments have established project teams to lead implementation of the transfer of these functions over the coming months.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Integration confirmed the scheme is currently due to end on 31 March but said “it may be extended”.
“The future of the Accommodation Recognition Payment will be considered in the context of the continued whole of Government response to the war in Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.
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