There are too many people seeking International Protection in Ireland who are not entitled to it, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said.
He was speaking on Sunday as he signalled “changes” to the Ukrainian Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP), a monthly €800 tax free payment for each property hosting refugees from the war with Russia.
Campaigners say any cut in this payment – which is due to expire at the end of March – will “push people into homelessness”.
On the overall volume of asylum cases, Mr O’Callaghan said there were 14,000 applications processed last year, with more than 65 per cent of these rejected at the first instance.
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Some 18,500 people came to Ireland last year seeking asylum and the forecasts suggest 15,000 could do likewise this year.
“This year already, in January, over 80 per cent of applications were rejected at first instance,” he told RTÉ radio’s This Week programme on Sunday.
“I have to be honest with people and say there are too many people seeking International Protection who are not entitled to it, and the people who are really suffering from that are the people who are legitimately entitled to claim it, who may not be provided with accommodation because of the numbers that are coming in.”
As for the ARP, Mr O’Callaghan said a decision would have to be made shortly on its renewal.
Poor information around future plans for the payment, which expires on March 31st, is causing “significant uncertainty for both hosts and guests”, with many families who rely on the scheme at risk of losing their homes, Ukraine Civil Society Forum coordinator Emma Lane-Spollen said.
Reducing or removing the payment without a transition plan will “collapse placements” and “push people into homelessness”, she said.
Nearly 36,000 Ukrainians who came to Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, or 41 per cent of all Ukrainian refugees, are living in more than 15,500 ARP-supported homes and properties, up from 27 per cent this time last year.
The ARP is being reviewed by the Department of Justice, which is taking responsibility for immigration and integration, the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Public Expenditure. It is understood the review will propose to reduce the monthly payment.
Three quarters of hosts say they cannot continue supporting Ukrainians if the Government reduces the payment, according to research from the Helping Irish Hosts (HIH) grassroots non-profit company.
The onus to move guests on will not lie with policymakers but with hosts, said Angie Gough, HIH co-founder and chief executive.
She said the ARP was “far cheaper” than relying on private contractors for emergency accommodation and saves between €1-€2 million each day on current immigration spending.
On the wider asylum challenge, Mr O’Callaghan said the Government was not going to “sit down and say our function is to just create as many accommodation spaces as possible”.
He said there were plans to buy a “series of centres” around Ireland to house International Protection applicants, but he would not disclose how many would be purchased.
Figures released last week by Minister for Integration Norma Foley show the State spent more than €1 billion accommodating International Protection applicants last year. This was a 54 per cent increase on the €651.75 million cost in 2023.
“It is much cheaper if the State owns accommodation centres instead of giving vast amounts of money to people who own them, that were premises not designed for that purpose,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
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