The Irish government intends to offer Ukrainian refugees a financial package to return home as it moves to terminate all state-funded refugee accommodation contracts within a year, The Times reports.
According to the newspaper, senior officials are weighing two options: ending the temporary protection directive entirely, or restricting support to Ukrainians from the worst-affected areas of the country.
Ending state accommodation
Colm Brophy, the Fine Gael minister of state for migration, told The Times the government wants to terminate contracts under which roughly 16,000 Ukrainians are accommodated by the state.
"That is what we want to really end. We want to end the situation where the 16,000 that came at the very start, that have effectively been accommodated by the state since their arrival, that we would be pulling out of that. Because no other EU state is providing that," Brophy said.
He added: "They will be having to leave because we will be ending the contracts. And the timeline is the critical thing here. We have a clear direction. I want to see that timeline be something we conclude in the next 12 months. We have to finalise that as a decision of government."
A returns policy in the works
The Times reports that officials are preparing a returns policy to coincide with the end of the directive, which would encourage Ukrainians to go home with financial support. Under current arrangements, asylum seekers can apply for up to €2,500 per individual or up to €10,000 per family to return to their country of origin.
Asked about the size of the planned package, Brophy said it would match the generosity of the initial welcome.
"It makes sense to have a generous response to enabling people to return, proportionate to the generosity that we were in enabling them to come to us in the first place," he told the newspaper.
Payments to Irish hosts
Since February 2022, more than 125,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have received temporary protection in Ireland, according to The Times. Between July 2022 and March 2026, nearly 28,000 hosts received more than €438 million under the accommodation recognition payment for housing 64,000 Ukrainian refugees.
The monthly payment began at €400, was doubled to €800, and currently stands at €600. The government plans to bring it back down to €400 before phasing it out.
"It is very important that we achieve over the coming months two things: the reduction of the accommodation recognition payment down to €400, then the termination of the accommodation recognition payment; and the removal of the accommodation directly provided by the state," Brophy said.
He framed the decision as a question of fiscal discipline: "Because it's taxpayers' money that's funding this, I want to see value for money. I believe that if a community or an individual can support themselves, then I don't see why we as taxpayers should be paying out millions and millions and millions. It's not being done in other European countries."
Housing pressures in the background
The Times notes the government continues to balance competing demands for accommodation from domestic buyers, renters, refugees, and asylum seekers. Ministers are also keen to return contracted hotel beds to the tourism sector. The temporary protection directive, an emergency provision extended several times since 2022, is due to expire next March.
