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Ukraine War

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Questions (772)

Ivana Bacik

Question:

772. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice if her Department will produce a roadmap for supporting all persons arriving in Ireland from Ukraine in conjunction with other Government Departments and State agencies. [14714/22]

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Written answers

There is a coordinated whole-of-Government response to support people arriving in Ireland who have fled the violence in Ukraine. Government Departments and services are working together to implement Ireland's commitments under the EU Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC), which has been activated for the first time to grant temporary protection to displaced persons from Ukraine.

The Directive has legal effect under Section 60 of the International Protection Act 2015.

Those eligible for Temporary Protection (granted initially for one year, but renewable) will have immediate access to the labour market, social welfare, accommodation and other State supports as necessary.

To date, approximately 90 per cent of Ukrainians who have entered the State have been welcomed at Dublin Airport. Beneficiaries are being provided with their temporary protection permission letter on arrival in the Airport in the 'one-stop-shop' established for that purpose, to ensure early access to all necessary supports.

Arrangements have also now been put in place to provide permission letters to those who arrived at Dublin Airport prior to 9 March (when permission letters started to issue) and to those who have arrived at other ports of entry to the State.

The ‘Ukraine Support Centres’ opened in Dublin and Cork, and soon to open in Limerick, are assisting those newly arrived to obtain their PPS Numbers and to access social welfare income supports, and receive referrals to other State services.

A centralised Government information portal is available on www.gov.ie/ukraine, and is regularly updated.

My Department’s Irish Immigration website also contains a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page at: www.irishimmigration.ie/faqs-for-ukraine-nationals-and-residents-of-ukraine/.

I can assure the Deputy that my Government colleagues and I will continue to work with our EU counterparts on any further EU-wide measures that might be needed to assist those fleeing Ukraine. However, the immediate and overriding priority is to assist those who have arrived and continue to arrive in Ireland to find safety with access to state supports as needed, as part of a whole of Government response.

Notwithstanding this, given the very extreme pressures being faced by Moldova in the current circumstances, the Government has agreed, as part of an EU response, to offer to accept from Moldova up to 500 people who have fled the war in Ukraine.

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