Ukrainian refugee accommodation payments
Deputy Harkin raised delayed payments to a host providing Ukrainian accommodation and poor communication with local communities about refugee housing. The Minister said the State is housing 54,000 Ukrainians, the backlog has been reduced though not cleared, and advised contact with the local authority.
I want to raise some concerns about accommodation for Ukrainian refugees. One constituent is owed more than €400,000 since last October for accommodation he has provided. Unless he is paid, he will have to withdraw that accommodation. Nobody wants that. What is the delay?
The second issue is the need for good, timely communication with local communities about the location of refugee accommodation. Lack of clear information allows rumours to spread. The damage is done and is impossible to repair.
One constituent gave a house to a Ukrainian family before there was any money involved. That family subsequently returned to Ukraine. Since the end of last September, that family has been trying to get another Ukrainian family into that house but the family is being bounced from one agency to another, be it the local authority, Red Cross, or the International Organisation for Migration, IOM. Generous, decent people are beginning to lose patience. I want to ask for a more timely response.
Comment on this
As the Deputy knows, the State is accommodating 54,000 Ukrainians right now. Of those, 46,000 are in hotels and guesthouses. That is more than 700 individual contracts. I recognise that in the latter half of last year a backlog grew in regard to prompt payment. We put in additional resources to address that. We shrunk the backlog. We did not entirely clear it. We will work with the Deputy in regard to the particular provider of whom she spoke.
I take on board the point on communication. It is important. When we are opening new accommodation we try to let Deputies and local authority members know. We are looking to build a unit in my Department that will be designed around that in order that we can do that on a more proactive basis. Obviously, where there are bad faith actors, and there are some bad faith actors in this, sometimes we are responding to rumours that have absolutely no truth whatsoever.
In regard to the house, is that a shared house?
Comment on this
No, it is an individual house on its own.
Comment on this
I would advise them to contact the local authority. The local authorities are now doing the vacant homes call. That is the route they should take.