Household payment for hosting Ukrainians to be doubled in race to find accommodation

The Government is expected to double the payment to households hosting Ukrainians to €800 a month, and to expand modular house-building, as it scrambles to provide enough accommodation for people arriving into the State from overseas and seeking protection.

However, the Department of Integration on Monday warned there was “no expectation” that numbers arriving from Ukraine and elsewhere would abate in the autumn, saying the “outlook for the availability of suitable accommodation is extremely challenging”.

A meeting of senior Ministers and Coalition leaders on Monday also agreed there would be a call for vacant homes led by local authorities and the Department of Housing, although it was not immediately clear if that payment would be given to those who provided such properties.

Ministers were also expected to agree to move to providing only accommodation in hotels for Ukrainians instead of the current situation where meals are also covered.

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Government sources said there would be a memo prepared for Cabinet but it was unlikely to be considered on Tuesday, with a full Cabinet meeting next week or an incorporeal meeting later this week to approve new measures.

Modular homes

The programme of modular homes is being increased by 200 units from its original level of 500 homes. However, the Office of Public Works said the homes would only come onstream on a phased basis in January and February of next year. Government sources indicated that the programme could expand further still and would also cater for social housing.

It is expected another 800 people will be accommodated through the programme’s expansion, bringing the total to 2,800. A main contractor, Sisk, has been appointed and has subcontracted five companies to build the homes.

A spokeswoman for the OPW said the Government “has approved the construction of 500 modular homes with the potential to house up to 2,000 people in family units of four. The programme will be expanded to deliver another 200 homes, bringing the total to 700.″

However, with more than 43,000 Ukrainian people having sought accommodation from the State and 16,473 international protection applicants accommodated across that system – including 6,558 in direct provision, 302 in tents and 9,169 in temporary centres – the pressure on the system is set to continue.

Sleeping in airport

Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien met with Coalition leaders on Monday night to discuss the situation which led to more than 40 people from Ukraine sleeping in Dublin Airport over the weekend. On Monday, the DAA made a building on the airport campus available to the Department of Integration which will serve as a temporary overnight accommodation facility for Ukrainians, amid expectations of a shortfall of thousands of beds before Christmas.

There were also proposals to curb access to medical cards for people fleeing the war in Ukraine with an assessment for eligibility based on a qualifying financial threshold.

Ministers were also due to discuss proposals to charge for accommodation to those who are in direct provision but have permission to remain in the country and work, having been granted international protection status. Increased checks on those seeking protection were also due to be discussed, with work ongoing to accelerate the process to assess applicants who are coming from countries deemed to be safe – with a first decision in a matter of months.

The Department of Justice said on Monday night that 16 enforced deportations had taken place this year, alongside 87 self-deportations.

The Labour Party on Monday called for briefings on the situation to be arranged for Opposition parties. Its leader, Ivana Bacik, wrote to the Taoiseach asking that briefings which had been arranged during Brexit and the pandemic be instituted in response to the crisis in provision for refugees and asylum seekers.