LAST UPDATE | 25 Mar

CABINET HAS TODAY signed off on a plan to cut the Ukrainian accommodation payment to €600 per month.

The scheme, which pays people who provide accommodation for refugees from Ukraine, will be extended to 31 March 2026 in order to align with the extension of the EU Temporary Protection Directive.

The monthly payment will now go from €800 to €600, though the drop in the payment will not come into force until June.

Since the start of the scheme €272 million has been paid to 22,900 hosts.

It is understood the government is engaging with the Department of Housing on the impacts the scheme has had on the housing market.

However, Sinn Féin’s Justice spokesperson TD Matt Carthy earlier issued a scathing statement in which he said that the government’s approach to the ARP scheme is “uniformed by any analysis of the impact of what it has done on the rental sector”.

He said that he had repeatedly raised the issue and the impact it was having on the private rental sector, and added that the relevant minister, Norma Foley, had stated that the ARP was not interfering with the market nor had she sought any further information on it in a reply to a parliamentary question.

Almost 35,500 Ukrainians are currently being housed by hosts who benefit from the scheme which was introduced after the war broke out in Ukraine in 2022.

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’s full-scale invasion of 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. In January, the forum warned that if the scheme was not extended they could lose their accommodation.

EU Asylum and Migration Pact

Separately, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan will ask the government to approve the National Implementation Plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact ahead of submission to the European Commission.

The EU Asylum and Migration Pact, which the Government decided Ireland would opt into, is a European agreement that will update how the EU’s 27 member states and other Schengen countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) manage migration and asylum seekers from 2026.

Ireland and other countries are legally required to submit their implementation plans to demonstrate readiness for the pact from June 2026.

It is understood today’s memo will outline that a ‘Pact Programme Team’ with input from the department of Children, Equality and Integration and key agencies including the Gardaí and the Legal Aid Board.

Government sources state that the plan “reflects Ireland’s commitment to the protection of human rights in line with the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the UN Refugee Convention”.

Related Reads

Asylum seekers with jobs should pay towards accommodation, Harris says

Govt to consider 'further changes' to asylum seeker supports in the coming weeks

Limerick mayor

On an entirely separate issue, Housing Minister James Browne will update Cabinet today on the first meeting of the Limerick Mayoral and Government Consultative Forum which will be held this Friday. 

The Mayor of Limerick has direct access to national government through a number of channels, including this forum, which is chaired by the minister.

The agenda will include housing delivery, transport infrastructure, local government reform and regional growth.

Cabinet will also be told by Enterprise Minister Peter Burke about the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 which will allow people whose employment contract states they must retire at 65 have the option to stay on till state pension age, 66, if they so wish. This change creates a new employment right specifically for employees who are subject to a contractual retirement age which is set below the state pension age. 

Need more clarity and context on how migration is being discussed in Ireland? Check out our new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.