Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I move:

That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 14th May, 2025.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, back to the Seanad. We are delighted to have you back again, Minister.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am back here with such frequency that it will not be long before the Cathaoirleach is looking for a barring order against me to get me out of the place.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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No, I was going to make you an honorary Senator.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Fair enough. Like the Cathaoirleach, I welcome the distinguished guests from the Procedure Committee of the House of Commons. You are all very welcome to the Upper House of the Irish Parliament.

The Cathaoirleach will be aware that the motion before the Seanad in effect seeks a resolution concerning the accommodation recognition payment. In short, I am asking the Seanad to approve a reduction in the payment of the accommodation recognition payment from €800 to €600. Senators will be aware that, in 2022, the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 was enacted. The first part dealt with the issues that had arisen as a result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Regrettably, that war is still ongoing and, as a result, it is still necessary for us to provide Ukrainians who have fled Ukraine with the status of being a beneficiary of temporary protection. As the House knows - this may be of interest to our colleagues from the United Kingdom - since the war started in Ukraine, approximately 117,000 Ukrainians have come to Ireland. We did our best to provide them with shelter and accommodation. It was a difficult task considering the accommodation issues we faced in our country. I do not think there would be much disagreement from any part of this House that there was a very strong and generous response to the crisis by the Irish people and their elected representatives.

In order to try to overcome the difficulty of identifying accommodation, section 9 of the 2022 Act designated what would be provided as a payment known as an accommodation recognition payment. The purpose of this payment was to give recognition and some small financial contribution, recognising the charitable contribution of many Irish people who had provided Ukrainians with accommodation. Of course, this was not in any way a tenancy agreement. In many cases, it was people who had holiday homes who decided to provide those homes for the benefit of Ukrainian people who had fled the war.

The specific terms within the legislation stated that the sum of €400 would be paid to the person who owned the property if he or she took in beneficiaries of temporary protection, namely, Ukrainians. The benefit and consequence of this was that people would only receive one payment per accommodation unit. Even if someone took in four beneficiaries of temporary protection - Ukrainians, as I will call them from now on - instead of one, the person would still only receive €400. It was not dependent on the number of people taken in. If the Government wanted to increase the payment, section 9 allowed us to do so through an order made by the relevant Minister, which at that time was the Minister for children. However, for an order for an increase or decrease in payment to be effective, we would have to pass resolutions in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The purpose of the statutory scheme that facilitated increases or decreases in the payments was that it would enable the Houses of the Oireachtas to have a supervisory role and to have input in respect of the payment. This is what we are doing today.

Members will be aware that, approximately a year after we introduced the €400 payment, the then Minister for children came back before the Houses of the Oireachtas and said that he wanted to increase the payment from €400 to €800. This was agreed to by the Dáil and the Seanad.What I am doing today and what has been mooted and indicated by Government previously is that we believe now we should reduce the payment, reducing it from €800, as I indicated previously, to €600. I thank the Members of the Seanad for meeting today to discuss this motion concerning the order I propose to make to reduce the monthly financial contribution for hosts of temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine under the accommodation recognition payment scheme. As Senators are aware, the Act I have identified requires us to look at the change and resolutions that are put before the Houses of Oireachtas. As Senators will also be aware, in March this year, the draft order under consideration proposing a reduction from €800 to €600 was announced. If this resolution is approved by this House and Dáil Éireann, it will have effect from 1 June. In practical terms, it will mean that the people who are receiving payments for hosting Ukrainians will have their payments reduced in July by the Department of Social Protection. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Foley, has already sought and received the consent of the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. She also consulted me in respect of it.

The scheme was introduced in 2022 and was increased to €800 on 1 December 2022, recognising the challenge the State faced at the time in respect of ensuring we provided accommodation for Ukrainians. From the launch of the ARP scheme in July 2022 to date, 23,900 hosts have availed of the contribution in respect of 54,500 beneficiaries. In March this year, when the extension of the scheme was being considered in this House, many Members reflected on the many positive aspects of the scheme. They acknowledged it as an innovative measure which has generated emergency accommodation out of largely unused housing stock. The scheme tapped into the generosity of the Irish people. As of 18 May 2025, more than 38,700 were being hosted under the scheme. This now exceeds the number in State procured accommodation, which is 24,100. Notwithstanding the success of the scheme, there must come a time when it is going to be reduced, and there will definitely come a time when the payment is going to be removed completely.

A number of concerns were raised by Senators in this House in March regarding the potential impact of the scheme on the private rental market. That is part of the reason we are proposing to reduce the payment from €800 to €600. The reduction seeks to mitigate any unintended impact of the ARP on the private rental sector. While there are no definitive findings of any impact, I am mindful of the concerns expressed by Senators and Deputies, and I hope the reduction will go some way towards alleviating those concerns. We have a lot of data on the ARP which undertakes and provides an assessment on the impact in respect of housing. For example, a property that is RTB registered might also fall within the remit of the ARP, as a tenant may apply for ARP subject to the consent of the property owner and other tenants. There are also likely to be cases of RTB property registrations which were terminated for a range of reasons, such as sale of property or change of use, in respect of which an applicant is in receipt of the accommodation recognition payment.

It is an important decision we have made to reduce the payment. It is not being reduced back to €400. We are going from €800 to €600. It is a sensible thing to do at this stage, but obviously I will listen carefully to the contributions of Senators.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is very welcome back to the House for the second time today. We are delighted he has rejoined us in the House.

At the outset, the people can feel rightly proud of this country's response to the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The way people opened up their hearts and their houses to help the Ukrainians in their time of need is something we all can feel rightly proud of. It is even more noteworthy when many people opened up their own private dwellings to let people into rooms that might have been vacant, and that is before payments came in. That has to be recognised and appreciated.

Unfortunately, we are now into year three of this invasion. A resolution to this still seems a bit away, although it would appear that progress is being made but it is very slow. It is disappointing. As the Minister said in his contribution, up to 117,000 people from Ukraine fled here back at the beginning of the war. As of February 2025, that figure has reduced to approximately 78,000. The figures have gone down. Interestingly, I have come across a few statistics. Of that figure, something like 24,000 are in employment, 17,000 are either at primary or secondary school, and up to 13,000 have gone on to third level institutions. Many have integrated here. It is true that many have gone home as well but many remain and it is good to see them contributing to society, at work or going to school. It is good to see.

The accommodation recognition payment has served a purpose. I know people who had holiday homes and did not rent them out in the open rental market, but when this came along, they decided to use their properties to accommodate Ukrainian people. It has proved quite successful at a time when it is was an emergency situation and we needed an emergency response. Many property owners put their foot forward in that regard. The payment initially crept up. It is currently €800 and we are proposing to reduce that to €600 as and from 1 July 2025. I welcome that because there are instances in different locations where it did have an impact on the private rental market. Many people were competing for properties. Some of these properties were out of bounds, and while not all by any means, there was an element of people who perhaps availed of this scheme because the €800 was tax free, which is itself in some areas very attractive, whereas normally people are taxed at 50% of what they receive. It is a fairly hefty tax bill at the end of the day. Rents have moved on that much now that, whereas initially it might have been very attractive, it is perhaps less so today. The Government did and does recognise that there was a bit of an issue in that regard and have moved now to reduce this. That is very much welcome. It has served a good purpose but it is maybe less so now than before. Thankfully, many Ukrainians are working and are in position to contribute. Many of them do want to do that, which is very welcome.

I am happy to support the motion as outlined by the Minister. I look forward to the rest of the contributions from my colleagues in the Seanad this afternoon.

Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire as ucht teacht chun an tSeanaid arís chun an t-ábhar seo a phlé. Is dócha go bhfuil sé mínithe go soiléir ag an Aire agus ag Seanadóir Ó Gallchobhair díreach cad atá i gceist againn anseo inniu.

As the Minister outlined in his opening remarks, following the illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ireland has been very strong and generous in the response to the invasion. We have seen more than 117,000 Ukrainians come to Ireland. Of those 117,000, almost half of them - slightly over 54,000 - have received accommodation from those who have benefited from the scheme. It was the correct and appropriate action to take. It is a scheme that has been very successful. It has served us well to recognise the enormous contribution made by host families. As the Minister outlined, there are now concerns about the unintended potential impact of the accommodation recognition payment scheme on the rental market. This is something we are looking to address today. On the whole, the Fine Gael group in the Seanad is happy to support the resolution approving the order in the House today. It is something we would be very much in favour of.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To insert the following after “on 14th May, 2025”:

“: provided that future financial contributions under Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) Scheme shall only be paid after the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 has been amended to provide for the following: - existing recipients with respect to the beneficiaries of temporary protection currently benefitting from the scheme where those beneficiaries of temporary protection have satisfied a means test similar to those applicable for other housing assistance payments;

- new applicants who propose to host a beneficiary of temporary protection in their property which is also their own primary residence and who have not availed of the Rent-a-Room Scheme in the previous 12 months; ensuring that the ARP does not further distort the rental sector; and

- recipients who are not in receipt of any additional or ‘top-up’ payments from a beneficiary of temporary protection”.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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I second the amendment.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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I wish to share time with Senator McCormack.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)
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Having spoken on this a while back, I acknowledge and commend all the people who offered their homes and their generosity when people were fleeing from war in Ukraine. The solidarity was, and continues to be to this day, an expression of the very best of Irish hospitality and kindness. However, good intentions cannot hide the policy failures that have emerged. The Government is now seeking to reduce the ARP from €800 to €600 and claims this move is to mitigate any unintended impact on the private rental sector. This comes after months of denying there was such an impact and despite Sinn Féin's repeatedly raised concerns and the presentation of evidence, particularly from the Border, west and north-west regions, where rental costs are traditionally lower. What we are seeing is that some landlords in the private rental market are availing of tax-free payments because it is more financially attractive than renting homes to Irish citizens. There is an extraordinary incentive for landlords with no requirement to enter formal tenancy agreements, no security for the tenants and no transparency.

We in Sinn Féin have tabled a responsible and clear-eyed amendment to the motion. This is not to oppose support for those who need it but to ensure the scheme is no longer used as a back door to the rental market without the rights and protections that formal tenants should have. Our amendment calls for three things. The first is means testing. The beneficiaries of temporary protection should be subject to means testing in the same way as others who apply for other housing supports, such as the housing assistance payment, which has always been means tested. The second proposal is a primary residence requirement so new applicants must be hosting in their own homes, not in investment properties. The ARP should not be a substitute for tenancy and it should not reward landlords who are using it as an alternative to renting to lower-income Irish tenants. The final point is to ban top-ups. The payment must be in full and must be the only contribution from the beneficiary. Anything else can open the door to exploitation and skew the rental market even further.

We are not calling for a cliff edge. No one should be at risk of homelessness. What we are calling for is fairness, a rebalancing of the housing support system and an end to unfair practice that allows for some and not for others. We need a system that distinguishes between people opening their homes to those who are fleeing war and looking for refuge, which we commend and support, and landlords trying to capitalise on the scheme. If we want to retain public confidence in our housing system, we need transparency, consistency and fairness, and the amendment provides that. If the Government refuses to accept the amendment, it will be a missed opportunity to fix the broken system and remove an inequitable part of our housing response.

Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
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The ARP scheme is actively distorting the rental sector and creating serious inequalities. Let us call it what it is: the ARP in its current form is deeply unfair. It was introduced in good faith to support people opening their homes to those fleeing war. Let me be clear. We commend every family and individual who did just that but the scheme has spiralled beyond its original purpose.

Sinn Féin has consistently raised red flags. We warned that without reform, this payment could create an incentive for landlords to opt out of the regular rental market, and that is exactly what is happening across the country. I am hearing from landlords who say the ARP is a more lucrative option. They get a guaranteed payment from the State, often with top-up payments from tenants and with none of the responsibilities that come with formal rental agreements. What is worse is the complete lack of accountability.

The Minister has not commissioned any proper assessment of the impact this scheme is having on the rental market. We need data because I am hearing that it is distorting the market. We have seen the payment lurch from €400 to €800 and now €600 without any explanation or logic. Taxpayers need to know how their money is being spent.

The core issue that cannot be ignored is that there is no means test for beneficiaries. Someone in a secure, well-paid job can access this support while others in greater need of housing supports are left behind. That inequality breeds resentment, which is understandable. It is a recipe for division. In addition, some ARP recipients are receiving unregulated top-up payments. We have heard from landlords who say this is widespread and as long as these top-ups continue unchecked, the payment reduction from €800 to €600 will make no real difference.

Sinn Féin is not calling for a cliff edge. We are not looking to put anyone at risk of homelessness. What we are calling for with this amendment is a fair, balanced and workable scheme that supports genuine hosts without undermining the rental sector. That is why we have brought forward this amendment. I urge colleagues to support it. The amendment would introduce a means test for beneficiaries, like every other housing payment in this country. It would limit new applications to primary residents to ensure we are supporting people who are genuinely opening their homes and not enriching private landlords. It would ban top-up payments to stop exploitation and protect the integrity of the scheme.

These are reasonable, necessary changes. Without them, this House should not and cannot support the extension of the ARP in its current form. This is about fairness. It is about protecting the housing market and using public money responsibly. I urge Members to accept the amendment and we can get this motion passed.

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senators for their contributions and for taking the time to consider the motion to reduce the amount of the monthly contribution under the ARP scheme to people hosting beneficiaries of temporary protection. As provided by the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022, the draft order laid before both Houses cannot be made law until a resolution approving the order has been passed by each House. Therefore, approval of the motion in Seanad Éireann today is essential to ensure that the monthly contribution will be reduced from €800 to €600. This will allow for a more standardised and sustainable response and address possible impacts on the rental market, and is also for reasons of equity. The reduction will allow for an orderly wind-down of the scheme as we advance towards the end of the temporary protection directive in March next year.

While the impact of the reduced contribution is impossible to predict, I believe many hosts are involved in the ARP scheme for humanitarian reasons, as has been borne out by Irish Red Cross research. As the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, mentioned, beneficiaries whose hosts wish to end their involvement in the scheme, for whatever reason, and who may require support will be provided with support. In recognition of the significant integration efforts, there will be many others who will make their own way into the communities in which they have become integrated. My Department will continue to track the scheme activity levels, with assistance from the Department of Social Protection.

I acknowledge the concern raised by Senators today, particularly in relation to the possible displacement effect that the scheme has on a private rental market that is under extreme pressure. I note the proposed amendment put forward by Sinn Féin Senators which seeks to limit the extension of the scheme to beneficiaries of temporary protection covered by the scheme who satisfy a means test. It is also proposed to restrict the scheme to applicants intending to host beneficiaries in their own residences and who have not availed of the rent-a-room scheme in the previous 12 months so as not to affect the private rental sector. In addition, it is proposed to extend the scheme to applicants not in receipt of any additional or top-up payments from a beneficiary.

I oppose the amendment. I note that a similar amendment was tabled in the Seanad in March, when the matter of the scheme’s extension was being considered. As the Minister, Deputy Foley, indicated at that time and as is acknowledged in the amendment, the matters raised in the proposed amendment to the ARP scheme would require an amendment to the primary legislation that established the scheme, the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022. They are, therefore, not matters that have a bearing on the motion under discussion, which is simply to reduce the financial contribution.

On the issue of means testing for beneficiaries, it is important to note that the ARP is a goodwill payment to recognise the contribution of those who have opened up their homes to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The payment is not intended to substitute rent and it is not available where there is a rental agreement in place. The legislation is very clear in this regard.

With regard to so-called top-ups, the ARP does not create an obligation for the beneficiaries, such as a payment of rent or provision of services. However, a beneficiary may agree to contribute towards costs such as utilities. Such agreements are matters between the parties themselves. The Senators' amendment to limit the scheme to those hosting in their primary residence would result in reduced availability of accommodation for beneficiaries in need of shelter. It would preclude unoccupied homes offered through the offer a home scheme such as holiday homes, which have been valuable source of accommodation.

It is clear that the scheme has been responsible for introducing an accommodation stream that would not have been otherwise available and which has been a vital element in the State's response to the Ukraine crisis in providing shelter to families in need. The ARP is acknowledged as an effective instrument of public policy and its extension to next March was recently approved by the Oireachtas. We now need to fine-tune the scheme in a balanced way to respond to the concerns raised. I hope Members will support this motion.

As the Minister, Deputy Foley, confirmed when consideration was being given to extending the scheme, its operation will be the subject of monitoring across relevant Departments. Its future will need to be aligned with efforts to ensure proportionate supports in the wider context of ending the temporary protection directive.

I thank those in our communities who have welcomed Ukrainians into their homes and provided them with a safe space, support and stability. I record my appreciation of the work of the Irish Red Cross and its partners in mobilising and retaining pledged accommodation and supporting hosts and beneficiaries through their newsletters, webinars and casework support.

I confirm that I am not in a position to accept the amendments to the motion proposed by Sinn Féin. The draft order being considered cannot be made law until a resolution approving the order has been passed by each House. Therefore, approval of the motion by the Seanad today is essential to ensure the level of the monthly contribution under the ARP scheme is set at what is considered to be a more equitable rate and to better serve the public interest.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome, all the way from Hawaii, State Representative Amy Perruso. Amy, you are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today. Amy has just gone through a torturous session, which, I believe, finished a few weeks ago. The session there starts in January and finishes in May, after which state representatives go back to their other full-time job as well as that of legislator. Thank you, Amy, for coming all the way from Hawaii to visit Seanad Éireann.