Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. At the outset, I want to say I am proud that we have welcomed 100,000 Ukrainians to Ireland. That has been done at a time when their country is being attacked and invaded. All 27 countries of the European Union, including Ireland, opened their doors to people from Ukraine. Some of us opened our houses to people from Ukraine. Roughly 100,000 people have fled Ukraine and come to Ireland, of whom we think approximately 80,000 are still here. Of course, they continue to come. I want to say clearly that Ukrainians who are fleeing the war in Ukraine will remain welcome in Ireland, just as they are welcome in every member state, all 27 countries, of the European Union. That is not going to change. However, we have decided to bring what we offer Ukrainians fleeing here into line with what is offered in other western European countries, very often countries that have not welcomed as many Ukrainians as we have per head of population. That will require legislative change. The legislation will be published in January and, with the help of these Houses, will be enacted by the end of January. Those changes will come into effect at that point.

At this stage, the changes to which I refer have been well flagged and well discussed for several months. People know these changes are on the way. Under the new arrangements, anybody arriving from Ukraine and seeking temporary protection will be provided with State accommodation, just as they are now. However, we can only guarantee up to 90 days. During that 90-day period, people here will be paid €38.80 per week as a subsistence allowance. There will be an additional €29.80 per child per week.

This is in recognition of the fact that accommodation is being provided, as well as heat and light. This is money that being provided for daily expenses, and that will be for 90 days. During that period, we will work with them, with NGOs and others to assist them to find their own accommodation. Many different possibilities arise, including: taking up employment, where possible, which many Ukrainians have done and have provided their own accommodation; pledged accommodation; or staying with people they know in networks. Any solution we can find for them, we will. Once the 90 days are up and if people move out then, or even before then, they will be assessed for social welfare as Irish citizen would be or any EU citizen who satisfies the habitual residence clause. This includes eligibility for rent allowance but not for not the housing assistance payment or social housing.

As we all appreciate, this is a very difficult situation. This is the biggest movement of people that has happened in Europe since the Second World War. Between 6 million and 7 million people have left Ukraine. A proportion of those, approximately 100,000, have come to Ireland and we have been able to accommodate them. There are over 10,000 Ukrainian children in our schools and over 10,000 Ukrainians working in our economy, with about 70,000 of them in some form of State-provided accommodation. However, accommodation is scarce and the numbers coming in remain very high. We are making this change with that in mind, recognising that other European countries have acted similarly and have changed what they offer over the course of the past two years. We are now following suit.

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