The Taoiseach has said the Government must take action to “slow down” the number of Ukrainians coming to Ireland – with policy changes likely to be introduced before the end of the year, reports The Irish Examiner.
Leo Varadkar said any changes to social care for Ukrainians would depend on their circumstances.
“People from Ukraine come here from all kinds of departments. Some are retired, many are children. I don’t think everyone should be treated the same because that’s not the case at the moment. Therefore, we have to look at different categories differently,” he said, reports The Irish Examiner.
“There are countries where at a certain point, you know, welfare payments run out. Whereas in Ireland they are indefinite. I don’t think we’ll decide that at a certain point you get nothing at all. I don’t think that’s a road we’re going to go down,” reports The Irish Examiner.
“It’s not unusual in other European countries that at a certain point, your job seekers run out, we’ve never done that, I don’t think we’re going to start doing that,” Mr Varadkar said, reports The Irish Examiner.
Speaking to reporters in Seoul, South Korea during a trade mission, he said the government would not adopt a policy similar to that of some EU countries that end social benefits for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The proposal sparked a bitter row in government between Mr O’Gorman, Tánaiste Michael Martin and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, who argued that Mr O’Gorman’s proposal would hand over responsibility for providing housing for Ukrainians to the Department of Housing.
Asked what the government would do if the policy change didn’t reduce the number of people coming here, Varadkar said the government would just have to do its best. “That’s true,” he said.
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