A 2023 SCHEME to help Ukrainians in Ireland without transport links has been falsely described by a TD as having spent €1.6 million to buy eight cars — or €200,000 per car.

This figure is false, and more than five times the actual amount spent to buy those vehicles.

The exaggerated figure, as well as another dubious claim about the cost of drivers in the scheme, was shared by TD for Cork North-Central Ken O’Flynn in a series of social media posts. These were published on his own Facebook accounts, as well as on the X accounts for his party Independent Ireland, and have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views.

The Claim

Taking to social media on 11 April, O’Flynn said of the 2023 Community Car Initiative (CCI): “Here we have a scheme whereby the Department handed over an average of €200k per car for what was essentially a personalised chauffeured transport scheme for the Ukrainian community, irrespective of how the minister wants to characterise.”

In videos posted to social media the next day, Flynn says to camera: “€1.6 million has been spent on eight cars. That’s roughly about €200,000 per car. I’m not quite sure what car costs €200,000.”

In his posts, O’Flynn also wrote: “I want to emphasise that the €1.6 million in costs in no way reflects the full extent of the financial burden placed upon the taxpayer as it does not include the employment costs for the drivers who were contracted to deliver the service.”

O'Flynn's post

One of O’Flynn’s videos was viewed more than 160,000 times, according to statistics on Facebook, while his initial post was viewed more than 95,000 times and shared more than 1,400 times.

Versions of the post and the video were also posted to the X accounts of his party, Independent Ireland, which accumulated 95,000 and 28,000 views respectively.

In response to The Journal’s inquiries, O’Flynn said that the source for this claim was a 10 April answer to a parliamentary question on expenditure reviews. Parliamentary questions are an official Dáil mechanism with set rules and deadlines that allow TDs to inquire into the government’s actions.

A ministerial question

That answer was given by Minister for Housing James Browne in a written response to O’Flynn asking a series of questions about “Ukrainian community cars”.

The question and answer can be read in full here.

The question begins: “Deputy Ken O’Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide the detailed expenditure for the purchase of the Ukrainian community cars through the network of local development companies…”

Browne response begins by describing the CCI as a temporary measure to allow Ukrainians to take up housing offers in unoccupied homes in areas without transport links.

“The aim of the CCI was to provide a limited transport service to those properties without regular transport links and to enable BoTPs (Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection), to have access to a limited transport service,” Browne said in response to questions from O’Flynn.

“The CCI was not intended to replace existing transport links or to be used as a dedicated transport source comparable, for example, with a private car. Its purpose was to connect with essential services and existing transport links.”

However, while the minister’s answer does include the figure of €1.6 million, as well as a mention of eight vehicles, it does not say that the cars cost that much.

Browne noted that the CCI scheme operated across 16 local authorities until it was “wound down at the end of 2023 following a review and as part of a wider move for BoTPs to become more independent within communities”. The scheme cost a total of €1.6 million.

Browne also said: “LDCs (Local Development Companies) had the option to either purchase or lease community cars, depending on the better value option locally. Eight cars in total were purchased under the scheme, with the remainder leased.”

LDCs are local not-for-profit, volunteer-led organisations.

So while eight cars were bought as part of a scheme which cost a total of €1.6 million, this is not the same thing as saying that eight cars cost €1.6 million (or €200,000 per car), as the scheme involved other costs, such as leasing arrangements.

A response from the Department of Housing, which was in charge of the scheme, said that in cases where cars were leased, the average cost was €1,243 per month.

“Further costs associated with the scheme included tax and insurance for the vehicles in operation, fuel, driver costs and a contribution to the administrative costs for the LDC’s participating in the CCI,” their email read.

The email also gave the actual price of the eight vehicles that were bought: the total cost for the eight cars was €314,115 — less than one-fifth of the figure cited by O’Flynn.

While there are other costs associated with these cars other than the purchasing price, such as tax, insurance, fuel and driver fees, O’Flynn’s figures do not take into account the money spent on the other cars which were leased, as well as the other costs associated with those other cars.

The department also confirmed that the cars that had been purchased are still owned by the Local Development Companies (LDCs) and are still in use for other community schemes. 

In response to an email from The Journal noting that the ministerial response and figures given by the housing department contradicted his claims, O’Flynn said: “I would caution against drawing premature conclusions or relying on selective departmental briefings aimed at deflecting scrutiny.

“The figure of €200,000 per vehicle is a simple division of the total sum across eight cars,” O’Flynn said. “My use of ‘roughly’ clearly acknowledged cost variation. The department has not provided an itemised breakdown—if they dispute the number, they should publish one. Vague denials don’t satisfy public accountability.”

O’Flynn is right to say that the minister’s response did not include itemised costs. However, the department’s response to The Journal did give the relevant figure: €314,115 for eight cars.

Drivers

The Minister’s answer that O’Flynn cited also included the phrase: “My Department does not hold information on the employment arrangements of the drivers.”

O’Flynn appears to have interpreted that to have meant that “the €1.6 million in costs [...] does not include the employment costs for the drivers who were contracted to deliver the service.”

However, that is not what the minister’s answer said. Instead, Browne said €1.6 million was the “total CCI expenditure” by the housing department.

The Department confirmed to The Journal that the €1.6 million figure did include payments to drivers.

O’Flynn, however, suggested that there was more evidence to support his position. “Since April, I’ve submitted a series of FOI [Freedom of Information] requests that further substantiate my view that the full cost exceeds the €1.6 million disclosed.”

The Journal asked O’Flynn what evidence he had found through these FOI requests, however O’Flynn said he would not yet release it.

“Not all replies have yet been received,” O’Flynn wrote, “and it’s important that we take the time to ensure the information is accurate, complete, and responsibly presented.”

Misleading claims about Ukrainians being entitled to more help than regular citizens have been common throughout the EU, including in Ireland. The Journal has previously debunked claims that Ukrainian drivers were exempt from Irish laws, and that the Irish government had created a grant only available for Ukrainians to start their own businesses.

In March, we looked at claims that the government was paying to repair the cars of Ukrainians.

Our verdict on that claim can be read here. In brief: it’s possible, but through an already existing Additional Needs Payments mechanism that is open to anyone working on a low income or on social welfare.

It was unclear how many of such payments were granted to Ukrainian refugees, or for how much.

O’Flynn had then asked in the Dáil if such “expenditure is good value for money, especially in light of challenges to Irish citizens?”

However, the figures in the case of The Community Car Initiative are clearer.

Verdict

The 2023 scheme to help Ukrainian refugees without transport links has been falsely described by a TD as having spent €1.6 million to buy eight cars — or €200,000 per car.

The actual cost of purchasing those eight cars was €314,115.

The cars were kept by local non-profit groups after the year-long scheme ended and are still in use for community schemes. 

O’Flynn also claimed that the €1.6 million total spend on the wider Community Car Initiative did not include the cost of drivers.

The Department has been explicit that it did, contradicting O’Flynn. O’Flynn has also said that he has evidence from Freedom of Information requests that “substantiate his view”, but did not share these with The Journal. 

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