Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Social Democrats are fully supportive of continuing the accommodation recognition payment scheme. Some 25% of Ukrainians who have sought protection in Ireland are in host accommodation and pledged properties. Over 21,000 people are currently being hosted in nearly 10,500 homes across the country. The EU average for hosting is approximately 8% to 9%.

The level of support and solidarity Irish hosts have shown to Ukrainians is incredible. It is indicative of the welcoming society that we are - a country that understands migration, mass displacement and how vulnerable people feel when they arrive into a country so far from home.

The host model is incredibly beneficial to the integration and inclusion of Ukrainians in our communities, but it is essential to acknowledge that it does not work for everyone. People are fleeing war. Many are traumatised, many need their own space.

As much as the high numbers show the commendable level of solidarity from households across Ireland, they also clearly show that families are picking up the slack for the Government. Host families are currently saving the State approximately €386 million annually. Continuing this payment is a no-brainer, so too is implementing the findings of the Catherine Day report - building those six State reception centres and delivering those 700 modular homes.

As it stands, the State is far too reliant on the private market. It is wholly dependent on entering into expensive contracts with private providers for accommodation for Ukrainians, as it has done for 24 years under direct provision, handing over our responsibility to accommodate and care for asylum seekers to private entities which have profited massively from this State failure while treating asylum seekers appallingly along the way.

A clear plan for the future of Ukrainians in Ireland is needed. The temporary protection directive ends in March of next year. Ukrainians need clarity on what happens next. The temporary protection directive was an EU-wide response triggered, for the very first time, because of the biggest mass movement of refugees across Europe since the foundation of the EU. There must be EU-wide agreement on what the response will be when the directive expires in 2025. The Government must outline its preferred approach and communicate clearly with the Ukrainian community.

Some 92% of all hosts say that they have had a positive experience, with 74% stating that they would recommend hosting to others. The main challenges faced by host families were language and cultural barriers, as well as onward accommodation planning. This is something the Minister might address. The financial supports are important to hosts but there needs to be more work done on improving practical supports in order to ensure that the hosting experience is as positive an experience as possible for everyone.

Hosting should be brought into our integration strategy permanently on some level, but we cannot rely on it to the extent that we do now and we cannot continue to only make it available to one specific category of people seeking protection in Ireland. We need a clear short-, medium- and long-term plan from Government when it comes to housing asylum seekers and Ukrainians under temporary protection.

There are currently 970 international protection applicants on the streets, with numbers likely to breach 1,000 by the end of the week.

The Irish Times reported yesterday that only three people have been accommodated since last week. What is Government doing to fix this? People are getting hurt. Some of those 970 people were protesting outside yesterday. Among them was a 25-year-old man from Afghanistan who had arrived in Ireland on 20 December and has not received accommodation from the State. The level of payment from the Government is so low that he has only been able to afford a hostel bed for two weeks out of the two months he has been on the streets of Dublin. He has slept rough, been verbally abused and physically attacked. There has been a complete lack of urgency from the Government in addressing this humanitarian crisis on our streets, and it is not good enough.

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