A DECISION ON extending the scheme that supports Irish hosts accommodating people who fled the war in Ukraine is to be made “in the next couple of weeks”, according to Minister of State Emer Higgins. 

Speaking on RTÉ Radio today, Minister of State Emer Higgins said that a decision will be made on whether to extend the scheme “in the next couple of weeks”, adding that ministers had made it “a top priority”.

Higgins said it is her understanding that the scheme could be extended by a ministerial order, without the need for legislation. 

Ukrainian refugees staying in Irish homes are facing an uncertain future as the payment scheme for people hosting them is due to come to an end in two months time.

The support scheme for hosting Ukrainian refugees, which provides hosts with €800 a month, is set to come to an end on 31 March this year. There are around 36,000 people accommodated by roughly 19,000 Irish hosts as part of the scheme.

While the Temporary Protection Directive, an EU law that deals with a ‘mass influx’ of people in need of international protection, has been extended to March 2026, the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) for hosts has not.

State-provided accommodation for Ukrainians is already being phased out, something opposition parties have said is a form of “performative cruelty” on the part of the last government. 

The looming deadline is causing “huge concern” and anxiety among Ukrainians who have sought refuge from the war sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, according to Emma Lane-spollen, the national coordinator of the Ukraine Civil Society Response.

Lane-Spollen said that due to the recent general election and government formation talks, communication with the government has been lacking. She said that her organisation has written to a number of new ministers about the issue. 

“We already know that people from Ukraine are ending up on the streets,” Lane-Spollen said. 

She also said that civil society organisations like the Red Cross and her own organisation “don’t have any capacity to respond to 36,000 people in need”. 

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