Revealed: Thousands of Ukrainians to be told to go by August
Some 4,000 Ukrainian refugees face being moved out of their current homes, as pressure on privately supplied accommodation eases.
The Government's move is expected to release a significant tranche of hotel rooms and accommodation normally designated for students.
The decision will be announced by Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy today and will be cleared by the Cabinet tomorrow. Colm Brophy.
'Ukrainians will be getting a tap on the shoulder on Monday [today] and will be expected to be out of their accommodations by August,' one source said.
It is a move that will be welcomed by rural TDs who have faced protests in areas where there is a shortage of hotel rooms and community facilities.
The Government 'temporarily paused' moves to relocate Ukrainian refugees after a series of local controversies over the uprooting of Ukrainian families, who had put down roots in Ireland, in March. Pic: Getty Images
Payments under the Homes For Ukraine scheme, which paid €800 to people hosting Ukrainian refugees here, will be cut by 25% to €600 next month.
One Government source told Extra.ie: 'Ukrainians are still welcome, it is just that we are engaging in a process where we are moving towards the European norm.
'Ireland can't be offering better deals. A rationalisation of accommodation services is simply part of this process.
'The number of Ukrainians has reduced from 114,000 to 80,000. A lot of hotels have seen significant reductions in the number of Ukrainians. They are almost like 'ghost hotels' so can be restored to their original purpose.'
Minister Brophy confirmed plans to move 4,000 Ukrainians will be announced today, saying: 'This is part of a rationalisation process. The number of Ukrainians has reduced from 114,000 to 80,000.'
He added: 'A lot of properties involved are hotel accommodation and student accommodation. Accommodation has reduced significantly in certain hotels, and student accommodation is desperately needed, so, in short, maintaining them as asylum centres no longer makes sense.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
32 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Families paying highest childcare costs to benefit from cap in September
Families paying some of the country's highest childcare fees will see costs reduced in September after the Department of Children confirmed new caps on what providers can charge. The new ceilings should mean no parents pay more than €295 per week for a child attending a service participating in the Government's Core Funding scheme for between 40 and 50 hours a week. That figure will, in most cases, reduce to €198.70 after other supports are factored in. The caps vary according to the number of hours involved. The reductions, however, will only affect those parents whose children attend the most expensive services in receipt of Core Funding, with about 10 per cent of the almost 4,500 Government-supported providers charging at least one type of fee that will have to be reduced. In many cases, however, the savings should amount to more than €100 per child per month. READ MORE The imposition of fee caps from September on service providers in receipt of Core Funding had been scheduled for some time, but they had only previously applied to services that signed up to Core Funding for the first time. The department said on Thursday that the new caps would bring the gross fees paid by parents at more expensive services closer to the national average cost of €197 per week. At the announcement, Minister for Children Norma Foley acknowledged the Government still has considerable ground to cover to honour commitments that costs to parents will be cut to €200 per month. She said this would be done during the life of the Government, but said it was too early to indicate what scale of reductions might be funded in this year's budget. The childcare sector funding year runs from September to August and most of the big funding changes set to take effect later this year were announced before the current Government was elected. 'The programme for government has a very clear commitment around the €200 and that is our absolute goal,' she said. 'I've been very clear that we will do that over the lifetime of this Government. It will be incremental, and we're starting at the very top where there are extraordinarily high costs to parents, and we're beginning to bring that down.' Ms Foley said Core Funding would increase from €331 million in the current year to at least €350 million in the year from September with up to €45 million in additional funding to support pay in the sector which is widely seen as a barrier to the provision of additional places and services due to the difficulty in attracting and retaining staff. Minimum rates in the sector are only fractionally above the minimum wage. Talks between employer groups and unions on a new sector-wide agreement on minimum rates are ongoing and while progress is said to have been made, it is not clear that any new deal would be in place by September. If it is not, or the increases agreed are too small, some of the €45 million will be retained by the department. 'This funding is welcome, but the scale of it has to be reflected in the pay of staff in the sector,' said Darragh O'Connor of Siptu. 'Otherwise, it will be impossible for anyone to go back and make the case for similar supports in future years.' Karen Clince, chief executive at one of the country's largest providers, Tigers, welcomed the increased levels of Core Funding to be provided. But she said 'it doesn't go nearly far enough to address the horrific staffing we find ourselves in. We need more focus on pay and conditions rather than just vote-winning affordability.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Irish farmers tackling emissions and water quality issues but more needs to be done, says Taoiseach
Some narratives around Irish farmers and the need for climate action 'can seem unfair or overly simplistic', Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. Addressing a conference in Dublin Castle on Thursday, Mr Martin said he wanted to assure farmers that the Government was not underestimating the complexity of the issues and challenges facing them and would support them as they adapt to climate disruption. 'But we cannot ignore the consequences of inaction,' he said. 'If we do not act with resolve now, our climate will force us to adapt later – and at much greater cost to our land, our incomes, and our communities.' Agriculture is responsible for 37.7 per cent of Ireland's carbon emissions, while 71 per cent of farm-related greenhouse gases come from methane arising from ruminant livestock. READ MORE The latest Environmental Protection Agency projections suggest the sector will reduce emissions by between 1 and 16 per cent in comparison to the legally binding target of a 25 per cent cut by 2030. The Taoiseach said there was a need for a partnership approach grounded in objective science, guided by fairness and shaped by the experience of those on the ground. Thursday's conference examined science-based solutions at farm level to address climate, water quality and biodiversity issues. 'This is about building a shared path forward that ensures the next generation of farmers inherits not only a liveable planet but also a thriving, competitive and respected agricultural sector,' said Mr Martin. Significant efforts from farmers to improve environmental performance were evident 'from implementing low-emission slurry spreading techniques, to planting hedgerows, to improving genetic efficiency in herds, to participating in agri-environmental schemes', he added. 'They are proof of a willingness to lead, not lag, in the transition to a more sustainable model of farming. And yet, we must all acknowledge we are not where we need to be.' However, he said more frequent and intense storms as well as prolonged dry spells, unpredictable growing seasons, and increased disease pressures were becoming the new normal, threatening productivity, animal welfare and the sustainability of family farms. With the sector accounting for more than a third of Ireland's carbon emissions, Mr Martin said it was being put in a challenging position 'where it is both vulnerable to climate impacts and central to Ireland's efforts to quickly reduce our contribution' to climate change. 'We need to see continued and sustained change in water quality practices across all sectors. Agriculture, yes, but also forestry and wastewater treatment,' he said. Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said reducing emissions from agriculture 'is a monumental challenge but one that the sector was taking seriously'. Irish research was demonstrating the potential for a 10 to 28 per cent reduction in methane from a feed additive, depending on animal type, diet and inclusion rate of the additive. For the first time in Ireland, one study demonstrated an animal performance benefit from feeding the additive, as well as its ability to reduce methane. 'The challenge going forward is to bring these tools into widespread use on Irish farms – and to do that, we are working with farmers every step of the way.'
Agriland
an hour ago
- Agriland
Watch: ‘It's in Europe's interest to move off fossil fuels'
The Climate Change Advisory Council's chairperson, Marie Donnelly has said that Europe should 'move off fossil fuels' to address issues with climate change. Donnelly was a panelist at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) Agriculture and Climate Change conference in Dublin Castle today (June 5). Climate Change Advisory Council's chairperson, Marie Donnelly She told Agriland that Ireland's climate legislation is in place, but that it is 'not fast enough, and not deep enough'. Donnelly said: 'At a European level, one of the political questions that's center stage right now is whether the commission will endorse the recommendations of the European Scientific Body for the 2040 Carbon Budget, which is a 90% reduction in emissions. 'It's quite a political discussion, members of the EU Parliament are discussing it. The commission is debating it, and we expect something in September.' The Climate Change Advisory chair believes that there is a 'greater awareness' for farming as an industry, and as a way of life, and outlined the role that the EU will play in counteracting climate change. 'It's very important that Europe, as part of it's general approach, thinks about Europe itself, it's own self sufficiency, and it's own efficiency,' Donnelly said. 'When we look at climate change in Europe, it's very pertinent. Europe is the fast warming continent in the world.' 'What is causing global warming faster than anything else? Fossil fuels. Europe has no fossil fuels. We import all of our fossil fuels. Strategically, from a competitiveness point of view, and a security point of view, it's in Europe's interest to move off fossil fuels, as it happens it works for the climate,' Donnelly added. Marie Donnelly Donnelly believes that change is necessary throughout society in order to combat climate change, and that farmers will be impacted. She said: 'To understand what change we need to make, and to support people in making that change, that includes farmers. It might be financial support, new research, new ways of doing things that allow farmers to be efficient and climate active at the same time. 'We have to think of ways to get information out to farmers. Yes it might be financial, but it's more than that, communication, education, dialogue, mutual support, farm leaders, to get message out to adopt new mechanism. 'Farmers have been adopting new methods always. This is not new for farming. If you look at farming 20 years ago, it's not the same as today. It's the nature of farming to modernise as it goes forward,' Donnelly added.
