Latest news with #TemporaryProtection
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Donegal hosting highest numbers of Ukrainian refugees, data shows
Counties Dublin , Cork , Kerry and Donegal are hosting the highest numbers of Ukrainian refugees , according to figures published on Thursday. Some 80,031 Ukrainians are living in the State under the European Union 's Temporary Protection directive , data from the Central Statistics Office ( CSO ) show. A total of 113,917 Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection (BOTP) have come to the Republid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, nearly a third have since left, according to the latest update in the CSO's Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland series. In June, the European Council voted to extend the directive, which supports the more than four million Ukrainians who have fled the war, until March 2027. READ MORE Some 46 per cent of Ukrainian BOTPs currently living in the State are female, while 26 per cent are male. Figures show 29 cent of all Ukrainian arrivals are aged under 20. Nearly 17,500 Ukrainian children, who have come to the State since 2022, are now enrolled in Irish schools – 60 per cent at primary level and 40 per cent at secondary. Out of the more than 80,000 Ukrainians still living in the State, 10,504 are based in Dublin city and county, with 6,978 in Co Cork, 6,601 in Co Kerry and 6,502 in Co Donegal. Within Dublin, Clondalkin and the north inner city host the highest number of Ukrainian BOTPs, while in Co Cork, Midleton hosts the largest number, according to local electoral area figures. In Co Kerry, Kenmare hosts the highest number of Ukrainians, while Donegal town and Letterkenny have the largest numbers in that county. [ Ireland to back proposal to extend EU protection for Ukrainian refugees into 2027 Opens in new window ] Counties Galway, Mayo, Wexford, Clare and Limerick are also hosting between 3,000 and 4,000 Ukrainian BOTPs, according to census data. Nearly 40,000 Ukrainian BOTPs are living in private hosted accommodation, with 17,097 Irish hosts in receipt of the Government's Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP). This private accommodation includes housing obtained through the local government Offer a Home scheme, pledges through the Irish Red Cross and private arrangements. In March the Government announced plans to reduce the monthly ARP from €800 to €600. This change came into effect in June, with hosts due to receive their first reduced payment on July 8th. Another 23,400 Ukrainians are currently living in 670 State-supported accommodation centres, according to Government data. However, hundreds of Ukrainians living in nearly 70 of these centres are set to receive correspondence that the contract with their accommodation provider is ending as part of a Government initiative to return centres to tourism, student or private use. Newly arrived Ukrainians BOTPs receive State accommodation for 90 days and a weekly payment of €38.80 for an adult and €29.80 for a child, subject to an income test. More than 21,200 Ukrainian children are in receipt of child benefit, down from 21,774 in April and a peak of 22,558 in February 2024, according to the CSO. Some 10,311 Ukrainian arrivals are receiving pension, illness, disability, caring, supplementary or other financial supports, while 16,145 receive income supports. Some 26,474 Ukrainian arrivals are in employment and earning a mean weekly salary of €538. More than four out of 10 Ukrainians who are working have jobs in the wholesale, transport or accommodation sectors, CSO data shows. Of those Ukrainians with jobs, 57 per cent are female and 43 per cent are male. More than half of Ukrainian refugees who attended Intreo employment events reported their lack of English was a challenge in securing work.
Irish Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Ireland to back proposal to extend EU protection for Ukrainian refugees into 2027
Ireland will support a proposal to extend European Union protection for people fleeing the war in Ukraine for another year into 2027 when EU justice and home affairs ministers meet later this week. Ukrainians arriving in EU countries since the Russian invasion in 2022 have benefited from temporary protection. More than 112,000 people from Ukraine have arrived in Ireland over those three years, though almost a third of these are believed to have since left the State. There are almost 33,000 people from Ukraine in State-supported accommodation at 320 locations around the country. READ MORE Temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees in the EU is due to expire in March 2026. However, with no end in sight to the war, the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council is expected to reach a political agreement on extending temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine until March 2027. Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan , who is due to attend the meeting in Luxembourg later this week, briefed Cabinet on how Ireland will support the proposal to extend the protection into 2027 in principle. At the beginning of February, there were 112,189 beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine, an increase of 8,833 or 8.5 per cent on the same time in 2024, according to annual figures produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). However, the number of active PPSNs in November belonging to Ukrainian people was just 71 per cent of the total, suggesting 29 per cent have most likely left the State and are living elsewhere. [ Ukrainians in Ireland succeeding in asylum applications at twice rate of other nationalities Opens in new window ] In January last year, the Government reduced payments to new arrivals from €232 a week to €38.80. Since that move there has been no month where the number of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees has surpassed 700. As of the February statistics, women and children make up three-quarters of all Ukrainian refugees, and 23,803 were working. Counterterrorism Separately, Mr O'Callaghan received Cabinet approval to publish a law aimed at strengthening Ireland's counterterrorism laws. A Department of Justice statement said the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025 will 'allow for the prosecution of a broader range of terrorist activities in light of the evolving nature of terrorism'. These include terrorist acts with a cross-Border element, and cyberattacks where the aim is to cause widespread harm. This bill – which includes three new offences: receiving training for terrorism; travelling for the purposes of terrorism; and organising or facilitating travelling for the purposes of terrorism – will bring Ireland's counterterrorism laws into line with those of other EU member states. [ Crimea was once a crossroads of civilisations, now it's stuck in a wartime cul-de-sac Opens in new window ] Mr O'Callaghan said the proposed Bill will 'strengthen Ireland's laws by broadening the scope of prosecutable offences in respect of terrorist activity and marks a significant step forward in ensuring that Ireland's counterterrorism framework is robust and fit for purpose in the face of modern terrorist threats'. Along with the new offences, Mr O'Callaghan said the Bill 'also permits courts, when sentencing a person convicted of recruiting or providing training for terrorism, to treat as an aggravating factor that the offence was committed against a child'.
Reuters
04-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU Commission proposes extending temporary protection for Ukrainians to March 2027
June 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday extending temporary protection for Ukrainians who have sought refuge in the European Union until March 2027, underlining the need for flexibility as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on. The Commission, the EU's executive body, also proposed steps to help displaced Ukrainians return home when the war eventually ends. EU figures show more than 4.25 million people who have fled Ukraine benefit from the bloc's Temporary Protection Directive, a measure to help cope with mass arrivals of displaced persons that was activated after Russia's 2022 invasion. The directive, which was due to expire in March 2026 and has already been extended three times, provides protection and benefits lasting for one to three years across the EU, including a residence permit, access to employment and social welfare. "The situation in Ukraine is, of course, still volatile, so we need to be flexible," EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner told a press conference in Brussels alongside Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. "This provides legal certainty for the EU member states, Brunner said, adding that it avoided overburdening national asylum systems. The directive, whose extension requires the approval of EU member states, was initially passed in 2001 after the Balkan wars of the 1990s but had not been used until 2022. The Commission recommended measures to ensure Ukrainians can return home smoothly when the fighting ends that included organising voluntary return programmes and providing beneficiaries with information and support. It also recommended member states start transitioning beneficiaries who want to stay in the EU to other legal statuses, for instance offering work permits and student visas. Many of the displaced Ukrainians are in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, according the EU statistics office. Chernyshev said it was clear that some Ukrainians would hope to stay in the EU when the war ends but added: "I would like to state that we desperately need Ukrainians back home once the war is over."
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Historic Mayo mansion will no longer accommodate Ukrainian refugees
Ballinafad House, which accommodated over 30 beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (at one point, will revert to alternative use next month. The 110-room property, owned by Australian Bede Tannock, has accommodated Ukrainian refugees since 2022. The historic property had been providing accommodation and operated as a venue for weddings, civil ceremonies and public gatherings. The Department of Justice has confirmed that the property, and Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments, while revert to original or alternative use. Eight people are affected by the discontinuation of the use of Ballinafad House while eleven were living in the Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments. Approximately 2,400 Ukrainian refugees across the country are to be affected by the change of purpose of 30 properties. The Department of Justice said the contracts with private accommodation providers were not being renewed partly due to a 'reduced need' for such facilities to accommodate BOTPs. 'Many people are choosing to move on from State-supported accommodation or are leaving Ireland,' the department stated. 'State accommodation contracts may also be ending where compliance issues arise, or where the owner chooses to end their contract.' Those residing in Ballinafad House must relocate by June 6 while those in the Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments must relocate by July 4. It is understood that many of those who had been living in Ballinafad House have now left the property. Built near the village of Belcarra in 1827, Ballinafad House had fallen into disrepair when restoration works began there in March 2014. ADVERTISEMENT The 70,000 square foot property featured on RTE'S 'Great House Revival' and boasts 40 bedrooms, its own chapel and handball court. The five-bay two-storey-over-raised-basement mansion was built by Maurice Blake, a former High Sheriff of County Mayo, who hailed from a well-known Catholic family who pioneered Gaelic games in the locality. In 1908, Maurice and Anne Blake's son, Lieutenant Colonel Count Llewellyn Joseph, donated the building to the Society of African Missions (SMA). The SMA used the building as a secondary school and minor seminary, known as The Sacred Heart College, to prepare students for missionary priesthood as more ancillary buildings were built onto the house. Over 500 priests were ordained there before the seminary closed in 1957. The property was later purchased by Balla Mart, who used it used as an agricultural college. It closed due to a lack of funding in the mid-1970s after five years in operation. This forced 80 boarders and 120 day students to continue their education elsewhere. Plans for a 'detention centre' and a 'multi-million-euro sports complex' at Ballinafad had been reported in The Mayo News years before Mr Tannock acquired the property for €80,000 in 2014. In 2019, Ballinafad House was placed on the market for €2 million.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Directors of IPAS centre management firm shared €4.68m last year
Two directors at one of the biggest operators in the International Protection (IP) applicant accommodation sector last year shared a €4.68m jackpot in pay and pension contributions. In the second half alone of last year, Igo Cafe Ltd trading as IGO Emergency Management Services received €29.9m (incl VAT) in State payments for accommodating IP applicants. The Dún Laoghaire-based company is co-owned by directors Ann Murphy and Cristina Andries on a 50/50 basis and in 2024, the two shared €4.68m in remuneration and pension contributions. The Government spent €1bn on accommodating IP applicants last year. The new accounts for Igo Cafe Ltd show that the two directors shared €3.779m in pay and an additional €910,000 in pension contributions. If evenly split, the €3.779m works at €1.889m each for 2024 which equates to average pay of €36,346 per week for each. The €3.77m in pay is almost three times the €1.3m the pair shared in pay in 2023. The accounts show that the company recorded post tax profits of €1.3m last year which was a 48.5% increase on the post tax profits of €882,126 in 2023. Numbers employed increased from 31 to 77 last year while accumulated profits at the end of December stood at €2.28m as cash funds totalled €1.24m. The cash funds of €1.24m compared to only €1,158 in cash in the company at the end of 2019. A spokeswoman for the Dept of Justice said today that IGO Emergency Management Services "are a facilities management provider at four International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation centres". She said: "The Department does not routinely provide details of IPAS Accommodation Centre locations or occupancy levels. "While detailed contractual arrangements for IPAS centres are confidential and commercially sensitive, the Department publishes quarterly reports on all payments to service providers over €20,000, which include IPAS accommodation contracts for this and other providers." She said that these reports are publicly available online. She said: "IGO Emergency Management Services are not a facilities management provider for Ukraine Temporary Protection scheme." Meanwhile, the Government spend on accommodating IP applicants came to €1bn last year, after €280m was spent in the final quarter. The €1bn spend was a 54% increase on the €651.75m paid out in 2023. Last year, the Government spent a total of €1.84bn on accommodation for IP applicants and Ukrainians. The outlay equates to a daily average spend of €5m across 2024.
