Background information

By February 2023, approximately 77,000 refugees had arrived in Ireland. The number of arrivals has put significant pressure on the housing system, as there is a lack of capacity to house and shelter the new arrivals.

The Irish Times reported that Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: “The situation is not satisfactory”, and the Government is “urgently” seeking further accommodation while conceding “we are under pressure in respect of this”.

In February 2023, a senior government official told a Parliamentary Committee that: “The response to the ongoing migration crisis has now entered an extremely difficult phase, with insufficient accommodation available nationwide for International Protection applicants, and the outlook for accommodation for people fleeing the war in Ukraine is also challenging."

Content of measure

As a result of the accommodation crisis, the government increased the recognition payment for households who take in refugees from €400 to €800. This payment will also be provided to people who give empty houses to refugees.

The government’s response involved contracting hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, hostels and self-catering accommodation. Buildings have been repurposed and refurbished, and sports centres, arenas, scouting facilities, properties owned by religious and voluntary bodies, student accommodation, military facilities and tents are also being used along with pledged accommodation in people’s homes or second properties.

Meanwhile, the Irish Independent reported: “Government officials are set to put in place a special campaign to tell Ukrainian refugees there is no housing for them when they arrive in Ireland. The communications campaign will tell Ukrainians they are still welcome, however, but that the State may have difficulty in providing housing for them upon their arrival.”

Use of measure

In February 2023, the Ireland was accommodating more than 77,000 people including 57,500 refugees from Ukraine and 19,741 asylum seekers from other countries.

However, it was also reported in February 2023 that more than 200 people seeking international protection had been left without accommodation.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Other social actors (e.g. NGOs) Local / regional government	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

None.

Views and reactions

No information.

Sources

• 22 October 2022: Government ‘under pressure’ on refugee accommodation after 33 Ukrainians turned away from Citywest — Taoiseach (www.irishtimes.com)
• 25 October 2022: Special Government campaign to tell Ukrainian refugees there is no housing for them in Ireland (www.independent.ie)
• 25 October 2022: Government may double payment for hosting Ukrainian refugees (www.rte.ie)
• 29 October 2022: Ambassador tells Ukrainians 'no guarantee' of housing in Ireland (www.rte.ie)
• 01 November 2022: Taoiseach: Change of 'mindset' needed to ensure Ireland can shelter Ukrainian refugees (www.irishexaminer.com)
• 24 January 2023: Citywest Transit Hub to pause entry of new International Protection arrivals to its emergency accommodation area (www.gov.ie)
• 16 February 2023: Efforts to find accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers enter ‘extremely difficult phase’, PAC to hear (www.irishtimes.com)
• 16 February 2023: PAC told 200 refugees were left without accommodation (www.rte.ie)
• 03 March 2023: Accommodation strategy for people seeking protection in Ireland (www.gov.ie)
• 05 November 2023: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says Ireland needs to ‘slow down’ number of Ukrainian refugees over accommodation shortages (www.independent.ie)