Use of private properties to house Ukrainian refugees up by 17% this year 

Families alighting from a train in Przemysl, Poland in March 2022 having fled the Russian invasion. Concerns have been raised in Ireland about a housing scheme specifically for refugees from Ukraine. File picture:

Concern has been voiced about the impact of a Government scheme for housing refugees from Ukraine on the private rental sector as new figures show the number of private properties being used has increased by 17% since the start of the year.

A record number of over 21,800 dwellings are currently being used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees under the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme, according to the latest figures from the Department of Justice.

It represents an increase of over 3,100 additional properties being involved in the ARP scheme since January.

Owners or tenants of such properties were entitled to claim a monthly payment of €800 for housing Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive but the sum has been reduced to €600 per month since June 1.

Sinn Féín justice spokesperson Matt Carthy said the 'deeply unfair' scheme 'gave Ukrainians access to housing supports without a means test that was available to no other person including those on lower wages trying to secure housing.' File picture: Liam McBurney/PA

A total of 21,803 properties are now being used as part of the ARP scheme to provide homes to almost 39,600 Ukrainian refugees with 16,900 hosts in receipt of monthly payments.

The figures show that over €339 million has been paid to date to 26,100 recipients for hosting 56,700 temporary protection beneficiaries since the scheme was launched in July 2022.

The figures were provided in response to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson, Matt Carthy.

Highest numbers in Dublin, Donegal, and Cork

Not surprisingly, the largest number of properties involved in the scheme are located in Dublin with almost 3,300 currently housing refugees from Ukraine.

The second highest number is in Donegal where 2,070 private properties are in use followed by Cork (1,611) Mayo (1,425) and Kerry (1,308).

Scheme uses 1% of Ireland's housing stock

The figures indicate that approximately 1% of the Republic’s stock of 2.1m homes is being used to house Ukrainian refugees with varying differences across the country.

The proportion ranges from an estimated 2.4% of all dwellings in Donegal to just 0.4% of all homes in Roscommon.

Less than 1% of residences in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Meath, Kilkenny and Wicklow are involved in the scheme.

The number of properties being used to house Ukrainian refugees has risen by at least 10% since the start of the year in all counties with the exception of Kildare and Kilkenny where the increases were at a slower rate.

'Deeply unfair' scheme 

Mr Carthy criticised how the EU Temporary Protection Directive has been operated in Ireland and claimed the ARP is “deeply unfair and caused huge divisions within communities". Mr Carthy said: 

It gave Ukrainians access to housing supports without a means test that was available to no other person including those on lower wages trying to secure housing. 

He claimed the measure was also driving up rents particularly in parts of the country that traditionally had lower rents.

“These figures also show that there are significantly more properties than property owners coming under the scheme. There are 21,803 properties being provided by 16,900 owners which clearly means that a significant number of people have more than one property under this scheme.

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, this month. Picture: Michael Shtekel/AP

“It indicates that landlords are availing of this scheme because it financially benefits them while avoiding the normal obligations and responsibilities regarding tenancies."

Department and RTB analysing scheme 

Asked by the Sinn Féin TD about the impact of the ARP scheme on the private rented sector, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said his department is awaiting the outcome of an analysis being carried out by the Department of Housing in conjunction with the Residential Tenancies Board.

Property owners or tenants were originally paid a rate of €400 per month when the scheme was introduced before it was increased to €800 per month in December 2022 and lowered to €600 last month.

Accommodation must be provided for at least six months and meet the required standards in relation to structural condition, fire safety, ventilation and various facilities.

The ARP scheme has been extended to March 31, 2026 in line with the extension of the EU Temporary Protection Directive.

Separate figures provided by Mr O’Callaghan earlier this month show that the State had contracts with 670 different commercial properties including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation at the start of July to provide temporary accommodation to persons fleeing the war in Ukraine in addition to the ARP scheme.