Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. It is important to state that this payment is allowing us to meet the accommodation needs of Ukrainians who are here as a legal right under the temporary protection directive. It is an extremely important part of the State's accommodation offering. Thousands of Ukrainians have a legal right to be in this country under the temporary protection directive. We meet their accommodation needs through the recognition payment and pledged accommodation. If we are to speak about removing that payment, we have to have an answer in terms of how we continue to meet our obligations to those people, who are here legally.

We made a decision, which was supported across the House at the time, to the effect that over-reliance on hotels and guest houses was not an appropriate way to meet the accommodation needs of families in particular on a long-term basis. The recognition payment has allowed people to live independently in communities and put down roots. I have not heard a clear suggestion from Sinn Féin about how we would address those needs-----

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