TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has said the Department of Justice and Department of Social Protection is sharing data on the status of social welfare payments for asylum seekers on a “weekly basis”.

In May, the Government announced it would review payments made to asylum seekers and make a decision in the coming weeks.

Speaking today to reporters from Paris ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, Harris said there have already been “three outcomes” from the review.  

He said the first outcome was the decision to cut the social welfare payments of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

Previously, Ukrainian refugees received the current jobseekers’ rate of €232 per week – if staying in accommodation centres – and unlimited time in State accommodation.

For those arriving after 14 March, this was cut to €38.80 per week and there would only be an offer of State-provided accommodation for a maximum of 90 days.

The first outcome Harris referred to was the decision, taken in May, for this change to be applied to those who arrived in Ireland between 2022 and 14 March, 2024.

The second outcome was the decision made at Cabinet this week for that cut to be implemented from 12 September.

Meanwhile, Harris said the third outcome was that Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys “introduced a means test in relation to people who have been receiving social welfare”.

In May, Humphreys confirmed that international protection applicants will have their payments cut if they are employed and earning more than €125 a week.

“That’s resulted in thousands of people seeing changes to their social welfare,” Harris told reporters today.

Harris added that as a result of the review, information on the “status of people coming through the international protection system” is being shared between the Department of Justice and Department of Social Protection “on a much more frequent basis”.

He said this sharing of information “will continue, and it will continue to be monitored”.

He said all of this is being done to “ensure a fairness in the system”.

“This ensures that once somebody has concluded the migration process and gotten a definitive yes or no, that the Department of Social Protection is aware of that as quickly as possible,” said Harris.

“There was already sharing, but it is important with the work Minister Humphreys is now doing around means testing and making sure that the system is applied fairly that that information is shared on a regular basis and is shared weekly.”

Harris added that Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman is “leading on ensuring that once people have status”, that they are moved out of State-provided accommodation.

“We obviously need that capacity from people who are seeking protection, not people who have status and have a right to work in the country,” said Harris.

“It’s going to be an ongoing work but there’s some of the things we’ve achieved over the last few weeks.”