Thomas Gould
Question:535. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection if national insurance will be provided to refugees from Ukraine. [22779/22]
View answerTuesday, 10 May 2022
Questions (535)
Written answers
On 4 March 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted the decision to apply the Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC to persons displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 as a result of the military invasion by Russian armed forces that began on that date. This means that people from Ukraine arriving in the State will receive a letter confirming that they have been granted temporary protection under this Directive.
The priority of my Department is to assist Ukrainian people to apply for an income support payment immediately on their arrival in the State. A fast-track approach to processing such applications has been put in place which includes simplified decision-making and swift processing of Personal Public Service Numbers to facilitate prompt access to a range of public services.
A reception centre has been set up in Dublin Airport where officials from my Department and other Government Departments are available to meet Ukrainian people and to help them access a range of services including income supports. My Department has also established dedicated Ukraine Support Centres in Dublin, Cork and Limerick and the services, including the employment support services, of the Intreo Centres located across the country are also available to Ukrainian people.Ukrainian citizens in Ireland under the Temporary Protection Directive can work legally in the State and are entitled to the range of statutory employment rights and protections in the same manner as Irish workers.
A dedicated webpage has been published on my Department’s website to ensure people arriving from Ukraine are aware of the supports and services available to them. The webpage is entitled ‘Social Welfare supports for those arriving from Ukraine under the EU Temporary Protection Directive’. The information on the webpage is in plain English and also in the Ukrainian and Russian languages.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.