Ukrainians currently being housed in tourist and commercial accommodation will not face a "cliff edge" situation when the scheme ends later this year, the Minister of State with responsibility for Migration has said.
Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan secured agreement to withdraw State-contracted commercial accommodation to pre-March 2024 residents, with the exception of those highly vulnerable and those with barriers to independence.
The process will begin in August on a phased basis over a six-month period and those affected will be given a minimum of three months' notice of this change.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Minister of State Colm Brophy said help for Ukrainians is not ending but the Government is examining how best to provide aid on a sustained basis into the future.
He said the Government wants to work with Ukrainians in Ireland who wish to return home, along with moving away from commercial providers of accommodation.
"We want people to be able to avail of choices. We want people to be able to go home if they want to go home. And the Ukrainian government is very clear that that is something they would like to see, because they want to see people come back to Ukraine to help rebuild the country."
Mr Brophy said the State will still provide 30 days accommodation for Ukrainians arriving here, adding that just 22% of those who arrived in Ireland last month availed of that option.
It was also agreed to wind down the €600 Accommodation Recognition Payment Scheme in the last four months of this year and to end it next March.
A reduction to €400 could be introduced in September and this will affect around 42,000 people in hosted accommodation.
The ARP is a tax-free monthly payment to people housing Ukrainian refugees.
Mr Brophy said this was always meant to be temporary.
"Temporary must mean temporary, to [achieve] a more permanent solution, we must have a quality of treatment right across what we're trying to do. And we gain a quality of treatment by ending the ARP system and we believe there is going to be sufficient capacity to allow people to move into accommodation," he said.
Asked about the potential impact on the private rental market when the current scheme ends, the minister said capacity in the market is always increasing.
He said: "What we are doing is we're ensuring that there's an equal access to the market for everybody. And we believe is that it is possible to do that."
The Taoiseach said it has been the position "to move away from commercial accommodation" for Ukrainians for "quite some time".
Speaking as he arrived at Government Buildings, Micheál Martin said the detail around the withdrawal will have to come in a form of a Cabinet memo.
He added that there is "work to be done" by the Department of Justice on the definition of exempt "vulnerable people".
He said "clearly women and children", "people with disabilities" and "elderly or frail people who need support" will be included under this term.
"That's something that will be worked out," he said.
Mr Martin added: "It's going to be more gradual and obviously there’s a number of issues that were discussed at the Cabinet sub-committee yesterday."
Additional reporting Róisín Cullen
