Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 June 2022
125. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the level of involvement that his Department has had in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31311/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland is resolute in our solidarity and support for Ukraine. There is a whole-of-Government response in place to co-ordinate the humanitarian supports required to respond to the conflict.
My Department’s role is primarily focused on ensuring that the necessary resources are in place to respond to this humanitarian crisis with work ongoing, in consultation with other Government Departments, to estimate the potential resources required to provide a range of supports to Ukrainian refugees including accommodation and social welfare supports. It remains difficult to accurately estimate the total amount of funding that may be required given the ongoing uncertainty on the overall numbers of arrivals, their demographic profile and specific needs, and accommodation solutions. In recognition of this important humanitarian priority, provision of up to €3 billon was included in the Stability Programme Update (SPU) as an indicative figure for 2023. The scale of funding needed, for 2022 and future years, will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, as more information becomes available.
My Department is also monitoring developments arising from the conflict both in terms of the overall fiscal impacts and for key areas under the remit of my Department.
The Office of Government Procurement continues to monitor the implications of war for supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures. To address the significant ongoing uncertainty faced by contractors engaged on public works projects due to inflationary pressures outside the control of either party that have arisen due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine the Inflation Co-operation Framework was introduced last month.
The EU has introduced a range of flexibilities to address the impact of the influx of Ukrainian refugees including a regulation on Cohesion Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) allowing for the swift release and reallocation of existing cohesion policy funding. Member States are also permitted to use existing funds not yet programmed under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU), a post-COVID recovery package and all unallocated resources under the current 2014-2020 funding period where programmes are drawing to a close. Ireland is making use of remaining unallocated funding under the European Regional Development Fund (€0.4m) and REACT-EU (€53m) for this purpose. My Department is currently working closely with other Government Departments and agencies to determine the range of existing activities supporting Ukrainian refugees which could be financed under this mechanism.
