Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The key change we are seeking to introduce is that, going forward, we would look for a hotel-based accommodation and we would provide a bed-only accommodation. As the Deputy knows, many Ukrainians are working and others are obviously availing of social welfare protection. It would be open to them to use their income to support their living expenses, whereas their accommodation expenses would be met by the State. That is the situation of a Ukrainian family in pledged accommodation right now. Their accommodation is free, but they use their own resources, be they coming from social welfare or from employment, to meet their living expenses. There is a difference in treatment between Ukrainians in hotel accommodation right now versus in pledged accommodation. We are seeking perhaps to equalise that somehow by saying that everyone’s accommodation is covered but there are the resources there, either through their own resources in employment or through the social welfare resources that are open to them, to allow them to meet their living expenses.