Counties to get support funding based on number of refugees

A family day event organised by Ukrainian Crisis Centre Ireland in Mountjoy Square, Dublin to honour Ukraine's Independence Day. 

Counties will be allocated Government funding based on the number of Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants they have, as part of a new €50m support programme.

The proposal for the community support fund, designed to help the integration of refugees in towns and villages across Ireland, was brought to the Cabinet subcommittee on Ukraine by Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys.

Community groups and associations will be able to apply for funding to help with the integration process, but larger amounts will be available in the places with the greatest number of new arrivals.

The fund is expected to operate in a manner similar to the community support funds for Covid-19, but the size of county-by-county funding will differ depending on the number of people in each county needing assistance, a senior source said.

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the Government plans to build more State-provided accommodation next year on State-owned land.

“One of the greatest weaknesses of the system that we have been relying on is an overreliance on private provision of accommodation.

“We want to move away from that and the best way to move away from that is through the provision of State-provided accommodation and looking at the building of reception and integration centres. 

“We will be looking to advance that in 2023,” he told RTÉ radio.

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In the past three weeks, just under 500 new vacant homes have been offered and are currently being inspected by local authorities across the country.

The new push for vacant homes and rooms has been led by the Department of Taoiseach and local authorities and households who offer accommodation for up to six months can avail of a monthly payment of €800.

Minister O’Gorman said they have been “upfront” with authorities in Ukraine in terms of how “tight” the accommodation situation is in this country.

“We are not always in a position to provide people with accommodation on the day they arrive,” he said. 

Referring to recent protests about the movement of asylum seekers to empty premises, such as a former ESB office block in East Wall, Dublin, Mr O’Gorman said no community “has a veto” in terms of new people arriving in their area.

However, he agreed that his department needs to do more in terms of providing information to communities in a timely manner prior to arrivals in their areas.

“The vast majority of communities have been really strong in terms of their welcome and that’s certainly something we value.”

Despite speculation that there will be another minister added to Mr O’Gorman’s department to help with the workload, he said he does not see that happening.

This is despite the Taoiseach and many other Ministers publicly suggesting it will be examined in the upcoming reshuffle with Minister of State for Disability Anne Rabbitte understood to be interested in the job.

Mr O’Gorman added: “One of the requests I have made is that we are going to need additional staff within the Department to meet the very significant challenges in terms of meeting the needs of Ukrainians and continuing to deliver across the department.”