GOVERNMENT HAS MOVED to clampdown on the state payment for housing Ukrainians by agreeing today to limit the eligibility of some properties. 

Concerns have been raised about the scheme’s impact on the rental market and it was agreed at the Cabinet Committee on Migration in July to limit eligibility in some specific cases.

Justice Ministers Jim O’Callaghan and Housing Minister James Browne got approval today for proposals to limit the eligibility of some properties for the tax-free €600 a month payment. 

The changes mean any property registered with the Residential Tenancies Board at any time since 1 January 2022  will be ineligible to make a new application for the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP).

Existing claimants are unaffected. 

It is expected that a memo will got to Cabinet in the autumn seeking the government’s approval of the publication of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which will contain the legal changes for this amendment. 

In March 2025, the payment was extended until 31 March 2026, but the payment was cut from €800 to €600 per month. 

Rise in households in receipt of payments

As reported by The Journal at the weekend, there has been a considerable rise in the number of households in receipt of the state payment for housing Ukrainians, as the government has ended the contracts for over 100 centres that were housing them so far this year. 

Since January of this year an additional 3,125 payments have been made to property owners, representing a 16% rise in payments made under the ARP scheme since the start of the year. 

Sinn Féin has called for a full review of the ARP scheme, and said that it is giving landlords “tax free” payments and reducing the rental stock in certain counties.

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The party has also said that the government has ignored calls for the scheme to be “means-tested”. 

At the same time, however, 109 accommodation centres that were hosting Ukrainians have returned to their original use, according to figures provided by the Department of Justice. 

Agencies involved in arranging local accommodation for Ukrainians told The Journal that hundreds of Ukrainians have sought out hosting arrangements locally due to these closures, as in many cases the alternative accommodation they are offered is far away, and they have become embedded in the local communities they’re in.

 The Department of Justice has said that 16,900 hosts are currently accommodating almost 39,600 people under the scheme in over 21,800 properties.

With reporting by Eimer McAuley