The Irish authorities are planning to put forward an initiative to restrict the provision of housing to Ukrainian citizens for three months. This was reported by the Irish Examiner newspaper.
The Irish Examiner has said that the Irish government is working on a new policy for those fleeing the Ukrainian conflict. According to the newspaper, the Irish authorities are planning to reduce the allocation of public housing to 3 months due to the high costs of refugees from Ukraine.
“Newly arrived Ukrainians in Ireland may start allocating state-provided housing for only three months, after which they will have to find their own place to live,” the publication said.
The newspaper stressed that the reason for such decisions was the “irrational and unsuitable” policy of the Irish government towards Ukrainian refugees. According to the Irish Examiner, there are also “equality concerns” regarding citizens of the Republic, the EU and other migrant groups.
Almost 97,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland, more than 73,000 of whom have been provided with state housing worth €1.5bn a year. And there has been an increase in the number of people fleeing from Ukraine to Ireland, with up to 200 arrivals a day.
“This will be a major shift in government policy: Ukrainians will either have to find accommodation in the private rental sector or take out mortgaged properties under the ‘offer of home’ scheme after three months of living in state-provided housing.” Officials are working on when the changes will come into effect,” summarised the Irish Examiner.
Recall, Bloomberg agency reported that the Ukrainian refugees in Eastern European countries are in a great predicament due to the fact that the spending on their maintenance is cut. Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have cut payments to refugees from Ukraine.