Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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988. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of households or families who expressed an interest in hosting Ukrainian Refugees in each of the past 13 months; and the number of families currently hosting Ukrainian refugees, in tabular form. [13930/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, my Department has worked to accommodate an unprecedented volume of persons seeking refuge following the invasion of Ukraine, with over 77,000 people arriving in Ireland, including 57,000 who have sought accommodation from this Department.

Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging. Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, my Department has contracted in excess of 43,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 750 settings including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings.

The priority is to place people fleeing the war in safe and secure accommodation.

I can inform the Deputy that over 32,000 expressions of interests in hosting Ukrainian Refugees were received by the Irish Red Cross on its register of pledges since it opened just over a year ago. After eliminating duplicates, this figure reduces to approximately 22,500 expressions of interest. After further eliminating those that were either uncontactable and those that had withdrawn their interest, the number recorded by the Red Cross is 14,754. These pledges are set out on a monthly basis in the tabular format requested below. Not all pledges result in placements for various reasons.

My Department does not know the number of families currently hosting Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection as private placements also take place.

We know that over 6,900 beneficiaries were moved to over 2,950 Red Cross Pledges. A further 1800 beneficiaries have been accommodated in over 560 vacant properties by local authorities under the “Offer a Home” scheme. Almost 7000 claims have been made under the Accommodation Recognition Payment scheme in respect of hosting over 14,000 beneficiaries to date. Many beneficiaries have made their own arrangement and are likely to be hosted by families and friends. Approximately 20,000 beneficiaries have not required State funded accommodation to date.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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989. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of families or households or property owners who have expressed an interest in hosting Ukrainian refugees but have yet to hear back from the relevant body or be contacted regarding their offer of accommodation; and if a monthly breakdown will be provided on this figure based on the dates upon which the individuals made an offer or expressed an interest in hosting refugees. [13931/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, my Department has worked to accommodate an unprecedented volume of persons seeking refuge following the invasion of Ukraine, with over 77,000 people arriving in Ireland, including 57,000 who have sought accommodation from this Department.

Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging. Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, my Department has contracted in excess of 47,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 750 settings including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings.

The priority is to place people fleeing the war in safe and secure accommodation.

I am advised by my officials that in 2022, given the scale of expressions of interest, it took some time for the Irish Red Cross to complete the tasks associated with the Pledge Programme. My Department does not have a monthly breakdown in the format sought by the Deputy. However, the Irish Red Cross has confirmed that all persons who have expressed an interest in hosting refugees have been contacted. A significant number of pledgers were uncontactable. For 2023, the Irish Red Cross has set a target of making contact with any new pledgers within three days of their expression of interest in hosting a beneficiary with them in their home. Offers of vacant homes are now managed through Local Authorities under the new scheme announced by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in January last.