An average of 33 people from Ukraine have arrived in Ireland every day over the last week ahead of changes to accommodation and supports for new arrivals which will commence tomorrow.
It will mean that anyone fleeing the war in Ukraine, who registers for temporary protection and is looking for State-provided accommodation in Ireland, will get a place to live for a maximum of 90 days.
They will be provided with food, laundry, other services and integration supports in Designated Accommodation Centres.
Standard social welfare payments will no longer be available to a person while they are resident in the centres.
They will be entitled to a reduced weekly allowance of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child in respect of daily expenses, while they are resident in the centres. Entitlement to Child Benefit is not affected by these changes.
When they leave the Designated Accommodation Centre, or if they make their own accommodation arrangements on arrival, they will be entitled to apply for standard social welfare assistance, equivalent to Irish citizens, subject to meeting the eligibility conditions.
Six centres have been identified to provide 90 days of accommodation for new arrivals from Ukraine.
The first five confirmed centres are:
- Ballyogan Road, Dublin city (capacity: 392)
- Stradbally, Co Laois (capacity: 950)
- Fernbank, Limerick city (capacity: 250)
- Punchestown, Co Kildare (capacity: 378)
- Gerald Griffin Street, Cork city (capacity: 107)
The Government said it is making these changes in order to continue to meet the European Union Temporary Protection Directive requirements, and to align more closely with other member states.
These changes will not affect people from Ukraine who arrived in Ireland before the policy came into force and are already registered for temporary protection.
There are around 68,000 people from Ukraine living in accommodation provided by the State.
A director at Ukrainian Action in Ireland has warned of "very unpleasant and unimaginable scenes" if newly-arriving Ukrainians fail to find accommodation within the 90-day window.
'A recipe for disaster'
Sinn Féin has welcomed the reduction in financial supports for newly arriving displaced Ukrainians, but has called for the cuts to apply to all Ukrainians living here, and not just those living in newly designated accommodation centres.
The party's spokesperson on Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform Pearse Doherty said allowing Ukrainians who are living outside of designated accommodation centres to access standard social welfare assistance would "turbo charge the pressure renters are already under".
"The Government are only reducing these payments if you are in designated centre. There is now a financial incentive for Ukrainians to seek private rental accommodation where they move from €38 up to €232 if they are in private rental accommodation, and this is on top of the fact that the Government is willing to pay €800 tax free towards rental of that, so this is a recipe for disaster, we're going to see in the next coming months that this is going to heap further pressure on the rental sector," Mr Doherty said.
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Housing has said that the tax free €800 Accommodation Recognition Payment does not apply where there is a rental agreement in place.
The Accommodation Recognition Payment is paid to hosts who accommodate displaced Ukrainians in their accommodation and to those who pledge unoccupied properties under the Offer a Home Scheme.
Pearse Doherty said that Sinn Féin put forward amendments to the legislation underpinning these changes that would have seen payments cut to "€38.80 regardless of where you were, whether you were in a designated centre or in private rental accommodation".
Mr Doherty said that financial supports for displaced Ukrainians already here should be reduced on "on a phased basis".
104,821 Ukrainians seek Temporary Protection
Between the start of the war and the end of last month 104,821 Ukrainians sought Temporary Protection in Ireland, according to figures provided by the Department of Justice.
CSO analysis of administrative data showed that as of last November 78% of those granted Temporary Protection remained in the State, and the remaining 22% had left.
That would suggest that there were around 81,760 displaced Ukrainians in the State by the end of last month.
Figures provided by the Ukraine Civil Society Forum show that 11% are currently in private rented accommodation and 29% are in hosted or pledged accommodation, while the rest are in serviced accommodation paid for by the State.
For the last two weeks, weekly new arrival figures provided by the Department of Justice have been in the 200s, at 260 for the week ending on Sunday 3 March, and 235 last week.
While last month's weekly arrival figures remained under 200, ranging from 155 to 189.
Concerns over new system
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Anatoliy Prymakov said: "The absolute worst fear is that we're going to see people on the streets, we're going to see shanty towns, we're going to see very unpleasant and unimaginable scenes. If that is the case, that is the worst-case scenario, hopefully that doesn't happen."
He said it will be easier for people to find accommodation in cities rather than more rural areas, but said they will face significant challenges when the 90-day window expires.
"If we do take a person, a single person, that goes to one of these centres ... in Dublin for example, after 13 weeks, which is 90 days, they have €500 to their name, they're expected to somehow find accommodation, pay a deposit, first-month's rent, find work, overcome a language barrier, overcome a lot of barriers.
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"Is that impossible? It may be possible, but it’s certainly very difficult and I think it's pretty much impossible for people with children."
Speaking on the same programme, Emma Lane-Spollen of the Ukraine Civil Society Forum accused the Government of "washing its hands" over the issue of accommodating those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
She added that the Irish public hosting and pledging to host Ukrainians is the "only lifeline" for people in the 90-day accommodation.
"This is the only lifeline really that people in this new 90-day scenario are going to have and that's kind of crazy because there’s only so much you can ask and it’s not a long-term solution.
"The pledging and hosting and the reliance on the Irish public is in fact now going to be the only route out of these designated accommodation centres because the State is washing its hands."
Limerick-based Refugee and Migrant Rights Organisation Doras has confirmed that it is "working with the Local Authority and agencies to ensure the needs of the people arriving" at the Fernbank Accommodation Centre "are met".
However, Doras Chief Executive John Lannon said that he has concerns about the new system that is being introduced.
"It's important to bear in mind that there is still a war ongoing in Ukraine, and that people still need to avail of temporary protection in Ireland and elsewhere," he said.
"We are concerned at the impact that removal of social welfare payments will have, and at the planned restriction of accommodation to 90 days.
"Beneficiaries of temporary protection will not have access to other state supported accommodation, or the housing assistance payment (HAP), or even homeless services.
"Alternatives like pledged accommodation are limited and short-term, and three months does not give people enough time to put down roots or to source housing in a very limited rental market," Mr Lannon said.
"More broadly it is worrying to see the extent to which reception and accommodation standards for people seeking protection are dropping to unacceptable levels," he added.
Last month about 50 people attended a protest at the gates of the former Salesian Secondary School in Limerick city, raising concerns about its use as an accommodation centre.
However, Mr Lannon said it was "hugely encouraging to see members of nearby communities already planning to welcome them and to do what they can to alleviate the difficult circumstances that the people from Ukraine will find themselves in".
