Ireland should support Ukrainians to return to their war-torn country by rebuilding infrastructure and possibly paying for travel back there, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman has said.
With the Temporary Protection Directive, which allows Ukrainians to live and work in the European Union, due to expire in March 2025, the Green Party TD said there is a “fundamental question” for Ireland and other EU member states that must be addressed urgently.
He told The Irish Times Inside Politics Podcast that while the directive might be extended with new legislation, the EU needed to decide its position on the millions of Ukrainians who will be living in member states once the current rules expire.
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“I think that decision needs to be taken early this year in order for certainty to be provided to everyone,” he said.
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He said his view was that “first of all, we need to support Ukrainians to return to their country”, citing a “brain drain” in the country and the loss of its women and young people who have fled the Russian invasion. “I think Ireland and other member states should be supporting people to return.”
In the first instance, he said, Ireland and other member states should provide proper infrastructural support and a “major reconstruction programme” in Ukraine. He also said he was “absolutely open to making it as easy as possible for people to return”, including assisted or incentivised methods such as paying for their return journeys.
He said Ukrainians would however be more concerned about the prospects of rebuilding a life there rather than “the cost of a Ryanair ticket”.
“I think everyone going back will accept it’s going to be tough now. But is there a future, is the EU going to come in in support of the rebuild the same way they supported the exodus?” he asked.
Mr O’Gorman said he also expects between 13,000 and 15,000 asylum seekers to arrive in the country annually from now on, and that the system for accommodating them and processing their applications is not “fit for purpose”.
He said Ireland is now receiving the EU average level of applications from people seeking international protection, but that it is “too much for the current system to face”.
He said more staff would be allocated to the International Protection Office by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to speed up processing and appeal times and the Government intended to move to accommodation more focused on State-run facilities, with a plan on this due to be brought to Cabinet shortly.
However, he said that it would take a “number of years” to get enough accommodation on stream that would allow for a “steady state” in the new system and in the interim there will be a “ongoing reliance on private sector accommodation”. He said the Government had engaged with communities and that many centres had been opened without opposition, but that the system was under such pressure that it had to move quickly.
When the decision was to place people in Roscrea’s Racket Hall hotel at short notice, there was a real risk of women and children being turned away without a bed, he said.
Mr O’Gorman also confirmed that, while support and advice would be offered, the Government would withdraw accommodation after 90 days to Ukrainians arriving here. “Ultimately, the accommodation offering is for 90 days and people will be asked to leave the accommodation after that time,” he said, adding this had to be the case for it to be a “workable system”.
He said the overall figures of Ukrainians coming here had sharply declined in recent months from a level of 600-700 per week to about 150 per week in January.
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