State to pay €1.5m to EU for failure to accommodate 350 asylum seekers
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The Government is to offer to pay €1.5m to the EU because it cannot provide accommodation to an additional 350 asylum seekers, a memo going to Cabinet will outline today.
The joint memo from Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman will seek approval from Ministers to provide the financial contribution as it cannot meet the State’s commitments under an EU Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM).
The State had previously agreed to accept an additional 350 International Protection (IP) applicants as part of a solidarity agreement at EU level to relocate asylum seekers amongst member states.
However now, due to the pressure on accommodation, the Government is going to offer to pay €1.5m instead. There is provision to do so in order to meet its commitments.
A senior source described the move as a “once-off” but said they expect “huge debate” over the next round of policy decisions on the matter.
The VSM scheme was created to assist the management and relocation of refugees across EU countries to alleviate pressure on places where there had been a significant influx.
The scheme was discussed and agreed upon prior to the war in Ukraine, but was not set up until June 2022 and Ireland opted in. Refugees from across the world are transferred from their current host European country to another EU state under the scheme.
It is understood the €1.5m that the State is now offering will be reissued to other EU countries to help with their refugee services and accommodation.
A senior source said it is not the case that 350 refugees are waiting to arrive in Ireland and instead, the Government is making this move "to get ahead" before that happens.
The move is expected to prompt debate given ministers have consistently said there would be no cap on the number of Ukrainians or international protection applicants seeking asylum here.
A source said the Government has taken the decision to offer a financial contribution instead of potentially increasing the number of IP applicants on the streets due to a lack of accommodation.
It is also understood that ministers will be informed that 5,000 student accommodation beds will be made available to refugees on a “phased basis” in the coming weeks at a separate cabinet committee meeting on Ukraine later today.
Once college terms end for the summer, a number of beds across the country including in Cork, Maynooth and Dublin will be made available until students return in September.
The also understands a tender is being prepared for “floating accommodation” at Dublin and Cork Port and applications will open in the coming weeks.
Ministers will be informed more accommodation is due to come on stream next week which could “potentially eliminate” the number of asylum seekers that are sleeping rough, around 119 now, due to a lack of State accommodation.
Sources said there couldn’t be a guarantee that all asylum seekers entering the country in the future will be offered somewhere to stay on arrival.
Around 500 Ukrainians continue to seek shelter in Ireland every week as well as 150 IP applicants. There is also “significant work” underway to identify more sites for modular and pod-style housing.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will inform Cabinet of an overspend at his department in the first three months of this year. He is expected to say the overspend is due to a higher demand for services such as emergency department, inpatient and outpatient attendances as well as inflation and pay pressures.
Actions have been taken to slow management and administrative recruitment for the remainder of this year and the CEO of the HSE has announced a temporary pause on senior management and admin grades.
The memo says the Department and the HSE are working to “mitigate the financial risk” this year. An additional €1.4bn was needed for spending in 2022.