The government has vowed to review the €800 monthly payment for Ukrainian refugee hosts, amid claims that the government payment is “pricing ordinary tenants out of the market.”
It comes as a new report released by the Irish Red Cross reveals that over 10,000 Ukrainians were accommodated in almost 4,000 Irish homes through the Host Accommodation Programme – making Ireland the largest accommodation provider among nine EU countries.
Criticism has been voiced by Sinn Féin that the payment is “unfair” on other renters. The payment had previously been €400 per month – but was doubled in a push to accommodate Ukrainians in spare rooms or empty properties by members of the public amid the ongoing accommodation shortage.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien told the Dáil last week that the Accommodation Recognition Payment (APR) is now under review after Sinn Féin said it was unfair to other renters. Minister O’Brien said the payment was being examined in the context of the EU Temporary Protection directive, which grants Ukrainian refugees EU protection.
“We do not want to see a situation where properties which were previously on the rental market… that’s being looked at,” he said.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty said that the sum was being paid to people to house Ukrainians – regardless of whether the refugee was working or not, or their income. This, he said, gave an “advantage to Ukrainians that isn’t available to other renters out there”.
“It is pricing ordinary renters out of the market. It is not fair,” the TD said. “Will you end the scheme in the way that Sinn Féin proposed earlier this year?”
“What our amendment dealt with is the €800 tax-free payment which is made available to landlords and host families who make properties available to Ukrainians and the extension of this scheme for another year,” Mr Doherty said back in February, when Sinn Fein proposed an amendment to the scheme, which was voted down by the government,
“The Accommodation Recognition Payment Scheme was brought in two years ago at a time of great uncertainty, but we now need to look at its impact and fairness,” Mr Doherty said at the time.
Sinn Fein’s housing spokesperson previously said that it could be the case in his own constituency of Donegal that a landlord had the choice to either rent out a property to a private tenant for €800, subject to tax, or take a €800 monthly payment tax-free and rent it out to an individual in receipt of temporary protection, which “would leave the landlord hundreds of euros better off.”
According to the IRC report, some 10,019 Ukrainians were housed in 3,955 Irish homes through the Host Accommodation Programme, supported by the Irish public. The programme also aided Afghan and Syrian refugees, the Red Cross said, adding that efforts to expand trauma support services for displaced Ukrainians continue in 2024.
The charity said that this made Ireland the largest provider of accommodation among nine EU countries studied in the EU research programme. The countries included were Ireland, France, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland and Slovakia.
The Irish public also donated €900,000 to the charity’s Ukrainian appeal in 2023, while a Gaza appeal raised €634,000. €10.23million was raised across all fundraising activities throughout 2023.
‘Open Home, Open Heart’ is a campaign from the Irish Red Cross which launched in 2022, with the charity reporting “record offers” of accommodation from around the country. Since 2022, the IRC alongside its partners and local authorities have facilitated 7,109 hosts of shared or vacant homes to provide accommodation to 18,179 Ukrainians.
The IRC said it has allocated €4.8 million to international relief efforts in Ukraine and neighbouring areas, with an additional €1.15 million for domestic support programmes. It added that a total of 16,478 Ukrainians had been placed in 6,424 homes since the conflict began.
The charity has renewed calls for the public to “pledge their vacant properties and spare rooms so that we can provide people arriving in Ireland with a place to call home as they rebuild their lives.”
Minister Roderic O’Gorman previously said that Ireland had witnessed an “unprecedented humanitarian effort,” adding: “Thousands of families have opened their homes to those fleeing the war in Ukraine, providing a warm welcome into local communities, and I know that, for those who are hosting, it has been a hugely positive and rewarding experience. I would strongly encourage those considering offering their spare room or vacant property to contact the Red Cross.”
Irish Red Cross Secretary General Deirdre Garvey said: “2023 demonstrated our unwavering dedication to humanitarian values amid global crises. The continued support from the Irish public empowers us to keep delivering hope and assistance both locally and globally.”