Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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429. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there is a mechanism through which Ukrainian refugees living in Ireland can apply to be relocated to another part of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2815/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The accommodation provided to people fleeing the war in Ukraine by my Department is temporary in its nature and given the number of people that are being accommodated it is not possible to develop tailored solutions for individuals or families. We understand and sympathise that people may wish to be accommodated in specific locations for a variety of reasons, but we cannot facilitate these requests given the number of people wishing to be accommodated by this Department and the ensuing resource and capacity constraints.

Beneficiaries of temporary protection are entitled to make their own private arrangements including potentially availing of pledged accommodation if they wish and can avail of some supports to do so. To date more than 6,300 beneficiaries have been matched to more than 2,600 pledged accommodation settings. Those wishing to avail of pledged accommodation in any given area should contact the Local Authority in that area.

I also wish to draw attention to the Government announcement of 24 November 2022 regarding the new call for unoccupied houses. The campaign to assist those fleeing the war in Ukraine is being led by Local Authorities and may be of interest in the context of the above request.

The government has introduced a Recognition Payment Scheme for those who provide accommodation to people from Ukraine. Under this scheme, a monthly flat rate of €800 per property is payable to all those hosting Ukrainian temporary protection beneficiaries. The payment linked to a minimum hosting commitment of 6 months.

Further information can be found at: offerahome.ie/