Ukrainian refugees will lose their right to state-supported accommodation if they leave Ireland for more than 21 days a year under new government rules.
The Department of Justice said the measures, which take effect immediately, closed a loophole that allowed some refugees to spend months abroad while retaining access to free housing on their return.
Colm Brophy, the minister for migration, said: “As we look to further reduce dependency on the state, we need to be proactive in supporting Ukrainian people to integrate into Irish society.”
“Ireland’s generosity towards the Ukrainian people has been exceptional to date”, said Colm Brophy
From now on, residents of state accommodation may be absent no more than three times a year, for a combined total of 21 days. No single absence can exceed 14 consecutive days, and time away over Christmas must be included in the annual limit. All absences must be arranged in advance — retrospective applications will not be accepted.
Officials confirmed that some Ukrainians who arrived before March last year had been leaving for extended periods, in some cases “for months at a time”, without seeing their accommodation affected. The new measures are intended to bring fairness between earlier arrivals and those who came after March last year. Since then, new refugees have been entitled only to 90 days in designated accommodation centres.
Before March last year, Ukrainians arriving under the EU’s temporary protection directive could stay indefinitely in state-contracted hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses or pledged accommodation.
In addition, anyone who previously left state accommodation will no longer be able to reapply, and those who never availed of it will not receive a first offer.
The changes do not affect people now in state-contracted housing, nor those who arrived after March last year, whose 90-day entitlement remains unchanged.
A Department of Justice spokesman said: “People who arrived in Ireland before March 2024, and who are not already in state-contracted commercial accommodation, will no longer be eligible to take up new state-contracted commercial accommodation.
“This means that people who may have been in accommodation but have since left cannot avail of a second offer of state-contracted commercial accommodation. This also applies to people who arrived before March 2024 and who may not have availed of state-contracted commercial accommodation to date.”
Support through the accommodation recognition payment (ARP) scheme, under which households hosting Ukrainians receive €600 a month, continues to be available. This payment was originally €800 but was cut by €200 as of June 1. Meanwhile, vulnerable cases will still be assessed at the Citywest transit hub.
The tanaiste Simon Harris visited Ukraine in September last year
STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA
Brophy said: “Ireland’s generosity towards the Ukrainian people has been exceptional to date, but we must continue to align our offer with the policies of our European colleagues.
“Ukrainians who are living and working in Ireland and who can afford to buy or rent independently should be encouraged to do so. The ARP scheme provides a pathway for those wishing to move out of state accommodation.”
He also confirmed that all student housing used for refugees during the war in Ukraine had been returned to colleges, adding: “This summer alone we have handed back all student accommodation to ensure availability for the academic year.”
A total of 112,000 Ukrainians have sought refugee status in Ireland since the Russian invasion three years ago, with about 80,000 understood still to be living in the state, based on active PPSN numbers belonging to Ukrainian people, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
When it comes to welfare payments, changes were brought in from March last year. Those in state accommodation will get a weekly beneficiaries of temporary protection payment of €38.80 for an adult and €29.80 for a child, subject to an income test and any qualified child will also get a monthly child benefit payment.
Those not in state-accommodation can apply for social welfare payments in the same way as Irish citizens.