Can't cope with the influx of Ukrainians: EU country will radically revise conditions for refugees

Ireland is facing a huge influx of Ukrainian refugees - 500-800 people enter the country every week. This forces the country's authorities to tighten the screws to stop the flow of migrants. First of all, the tightening of the rules will affect Ukrainians receiving free housing and financial assistance.

This was stated by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, The Irish Times reports. According to him, about 100 thousand Ukrainians receive social support in Ireland even without newcomers.

At the same time, "new" refugees come mostly from other EU countries. Accordingly, they choose Ireland largely because of its extensive social programs.

First of all, problems arise with housing, the head of the Irish government noted. Therefore, the situation with its provision will change.

"It makes sense to look at what other Western European countries are doing... Other countries do not offer, for example, unlimited free housing provided by the state... We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that we do not have enough housing. We are now in a situation where we are accommodating people in tents and containers," Varadkar said.

The second point is social benefits, which now amount to more than 800 euros per person per month. The Irish authorities expect that reducing social benefits will help encourage Ukrainians to look for work and get employed more actively. So far, only 14,000 Ukrainians are working, which is only 14% of the total.

However, Ukrainians will not be denied entry. "Any Ukrainian who comes to Ireland will not be denied entry, this will not happen. However, the situation at the moment is such that the numbers are very high. This puts enormous pressure," Varadkar said.

Earlier, the Irish authorities have already introduced strict rules for refugees from Ukraine. In particular, Ukrainians who want to leave for Christmas may lose their free accommodation. Moreover, the restriction applies to both international travel (including to Ukraine) and travel within Ireland.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, a number of countries that have received a large number of refugees from Ukraine are considering introducing special payments to Ukrainians returning home. Norway already makes such payments, but Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Ireland are also planning to introduce them.

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