The Irish government is aiming to terminate government-provided accommodation for Ukrainian migrants within a year, while offering “generous” payouts to encourage their repatriation, Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy has said.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, around 125,000 Ukrainians have received temporary protection in Ireland, according to Brophy. Between July 2022 and March 2026, Dublin reportedly spent more than €438 million ($516 million) to provide half of them with housing.
Dublin has also shelled out nearly €400 million in “political, humanitarian, economic and non-lethal military aid” for Kiev, while other EU members have funneled billions upon billions of euros into the conflict. Moscow has repeatedly said that the bloc’s support for Kiev has only served to prolong the hostilities.
In an interview with the Times published on Saturday, Brophy said that discussions were underway within the Irish government with a view to axing state-provided accommodation over the next 12 months.
“I don’t see why we as taxpayers should be paying out millions and millions and millions… because no other EU state is providing that,” the minister stated, adding that the “timeline is the critical thing here.” The termination of the program has yet to be finalized at the government level, though, he clarified.
According to Brophy, the Irish government was also considering offering “generous” financial incentives to encourage Ukrainians to return home.
According to Eurostat, an estimated 4.35 million Ukrainians are registered for temporary protection across the EU. In recent months, a number of member states, including Poland, Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, have moved to curb social programs for Ukrainian migrants.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced last week that Berlin and Kiev would coordinate efforts to return military-age Ukrainian men residing in Germany to their home country.