There will likely be changes to the monthly €800 payment for those hosting Ukrainian refugees with an announcement due shortly, according to Minister for Integration Norma Foley.
Ms Foley said the issue was being dealt with and required engagement with the Department of Justice. The Fianna Fáil TD said she would not “pre-empt” the decision but was conscious that the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme is due to expire on March 31st.
The ARP is a tax-free payment of €800 for those providing accommodation to Ukrainians who arrive in the Republic under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.
“It has been a very important source of support in terms of accommodation, but we know too that the environment is changing, so we’re looking at every aspect of it,” the Minister told reporters on Tuesday.
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“There will be an announcement in relation to that in the very short term.”
Ms Foley also said that “anyone is entitled at any point to seek asylum” but there were systems in place to ensure that if they were verified and justified they would remain in the State and if not, “they will leave”.
She also said she would not get into specifics in relation to the background of Quham Babatunde, a Nigerian asylum seeker who was fatally stabbed in Dublin city centre on Saturday morning.
Separately, Ms Foley said the Government would be asking the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to reconvene pay talks with section 39 workers at the earliest possible date.
Minister of State at the Department of Disability Hildegarde Naughton said it was “not acceptable” that two people who are doing the same job are being treated differently regarding pay.
Ms Foley said talks had been paused previously because of the general election and the formation of government.
“I’m very keen to ensure that there will be a return to the WRC, and I would be asking the WRC to reconvene the talks so that we can get a fair and appropriate pay increase for the staff who work right across this sector,” she said.
The Minister said she wanted the matter dealt with “as quickly and as expeditiously as possible”. Ms Foley said she recognised the dichotomy that exists between those working under section 39 organisations – independently run entities which are grant-funded to provide health and social care services – and similar workers in the public sector.
“I do want that to be addressed and I want to see, as I said, a fair and appropriate pay system in place,” she added. “The mechanism really to do that, to bring everybody together, is the WRC.
“So it is with that element of priority and urgency that I brought the memo to Cabinet today and that I am seeking a return to the WRC. I want to see this finalised in the fairest possible manner in the shortest amount of time. We are giving it absolute priority.”
