Government not 'dancing around' issue of Ukrainians' welfare

No decisions have yet been made about changing entitlements to those coming into the country

A plan by Integration Minister Roderick O'Gorman to limit the state accommodation offering to those fleeing war in Ukraine has led to some division among Cabinet members, but sources insisted that there was no attempt to avoid dealing with the issue. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

No decisions have yet been made about changing entitlements for Ukrainian refugees, but cabinet sources say there is no "dancing around" the issue.

A plan by Integration Minister Roderick O'Gorman to limit the state accommodation offering to those fleeing war in Ukraine has led to some division among Cabinet members, but sources on Sunday insisted that there was no attempt to avoid dealing with the issue.

Mr O'Gorman's proposal, which has yet to be formalised, would see Ukrainian refugees offered accommodation for 90 days, before being responsible for finding their own homes. Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys, meanwhile, is examining the welfare entitlements for Ukrainians, as the Government looks to deal with significant pressure on accommodation. Mr O'Gorman is due to return to Cabinet with formalised proposals in the coming weeks, but a change of the rates of welfare would require legislation to pass the Dáil. It is not clear if this would be the responsibility of Ms Humphreys or Justice Minister Helen McEntee.

A spokesperson for Ms McEntee on Sunday said that any changes "which apply to the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection will be decided by Government and worked through by respective ministers".

It is understood that the welfare rates are likely to be cut, but sources cautioned that there is no decision as yet and a rate could not yet be identified, though there is a growing recognition that Irish rates of welfare are more generous than those elsewhere in Europe. Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that any review would not just be about finding a European average.

"It is not going to be a case of just working out whatever the EU average is, you know, we have a higher cost of living, for example than other countries and other countries pay welfare rates differently to refugees depending on whether or not they’re provided accommodation.

“In Ireland we provide accommodation to people who come to Ireland from Ukraine and also full social welfare. That doesn’t happen for Irish people, in general, and wouldn’t be the norm in other European countries,” he said.

However, sources rejected the idea that this or any delay in cutting the welfare rates was because of the political sensitivities of such a move. One source said that the Government was merely proceeding with the due care required for changing the system, which has seen nearly 100,000 Ukrainians come here in the last 18 months. They said that such a decision could not be made within days and said there was "no dancing around" the issue.