LEO: WE’LL NEED TO SLOW THE INFLUX OF UKRAINE REFUGEES
‘Too difficult to find them homes’
THE Government needs to “take action that will slow the number” of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland – as it cannot “turn a blind eye” to accommodation constraints, the Taoiseach has said.
Leo Varadkar made the comments in Seoul, South Korea, just a week after a row at Cabinet over plans to curtail the length of time a person can spend in State-provided accommodation. Proposals from Integration Minister Roderic O’gorman to cap the length of time a Ukrainian arrival can spend in State-provided accommodation to 90 days are expected to return to Cabinet shortly. Plans to cut social welfare rates are also under examination. Mr Varadkar said that Ireland cannot just look at other EU countries and copy what they are doing when it comes to supports, as the Government will have to take into account the high cost of living and accommodation shortages. He said: “Ukrainians will still be welcome here. Any Ukrainians coming to Ireland are not going to be turned away. That’s not going to happen.
“The situation that we have at the moment though is that the numbers have been very large.
“It’s putting huge pressure on accommodation. [We are] really struggling to find accommodation now for Ukrainians who are coming to Ireland.
“In addition to that, we have people from other parts of the world seeking international protection. I think everyone knows that, everyone realises that.
“We can’t turn a blind eye to it. We need to take action that will slow the numbers coming in so we’ve got more time to catch up on accommodation and other issues.
“It makes sense in that context for us to look at what other
Western European countries do and see that our offering is something similar to that.
“Other countries don’t offer, for example, unlimited State-provided accommodation at no cost.”
When asked for clarification about what he meant about “turning a blind eye”, Mr Varadkar said this was about the fact there is an accommodation shortage.
He said that we are “now using tents and containers” to accommodate people.
He added: “That’s not a situation we want to be in. But if we can slow down the numbers entering then we have a chance to get on top of that.”
The Taoiseach said the Government is examining whether social welfare rates for Ukrainian refugees will be cut. If they are, he explained, it will depend on people’s circumstances.
Mr Varadkar said that changes to social welfare and accommodation offerings to Ukrainian refugees will happen “around the same time”.
It makes sense to look at what other countries do and offer something similar to that