Paul Murphy: ARP Cut Will Create Homelessness
Paul Murphy opposes the government's proposed cut to the Accommodation Recognition Payment from €600 to €400, arguing it will force hosts to stop and create homelessness. He cites an Irish Red Cross survey and warns the reduction will cascade through the migration and accommodation system, pushing many Ukrainians into the streets or into international protection applications.
Paul Murphy outlines that this is the second reduction to the ARP, previously cut from €800 to €600 and now proposed to fall to €400. He highlights the Irish Red Cross warning and the 41,072 people who rely on the payment to keep a roof over their heads.
Murphy cites a Red Cross survey showing 86% of hosts consider the current €600 essential to continue hosting. He warns that if a fraction of those hosts stop, the result will be thousands, potentially tens of thousands, newly homeless people - overwhelmingly women, families and children - many without access to emergency accommodation.
Murphy criticises Sinn Féin and the government for pursuing tougher measures that he says target Ukrainians and risk manufacturing conflicts with schemes such as Rent-a-Room. He stresses that most hosts act from humanitarian motivation, not profit; the Rent-a-Room threshold of €1,166 a month tax-free is not comparable to the ARP payment.
He warns the cut will push people to apply for international protection, overwhelming the protection system as seen elsewhere, and notes the temporary protection transition scheme will exclude ARP recipients by setting an income threshold of €29,432. Murphy emphasises the mismatch between average rents and the incomes of many affected households.
Scale of the cut and immediate impact
Paul Murphy outlines that this is the second reduction to the ARP, previously cut from €800 to €600 and now proposed to fall to €400. He highlights the Irish Red Cross warning and the 41,072 people who rely on the payment to keep a roof over their heads.
Host survey and likely consequences
Murphy cites a Red Cross survey showing 86% of hosts consider the current €600 essential to continue hosting. He warns that if a fraction of those hosts stop, the result will be thousands, potentially tens of thousands, newly homeless people - overwhelmingly women, families and children - many without access to emergency accommodation.
Political choices and policy contradictions
Murphy criticises Sinn Féin and the government for pursuing tougher measures that he says target Ukrainians and risk manufacturing conflicts with schemes such as Rent-a-Room. He stresses that most hosts act from humanitarian motivation, not profit; the Rent-a-Room threshold of €1,166 a month tax-free is not comparable to the ARP payment.
Systemic risks and eligibility concerns
He warns the cut will push people to apply for international protection, overwhelming the protection system as seen elsewhere, and notes the temporary protection transition scheme will exclude ARP recipients by setting an income threshold of €29,432. Murphy emphasises the mismatch between average rents and the incomes of many affected households.
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Transcript
Last Ciann Comhairle, I want to oppose this new cut to the Accommodation Recognition Payment. This is the second cut to the payment. It was previously cut from 800 to 600 and now the government wants to cut it further to 400 Euros. And the Irish Red Cross have written to all of us outlining the devastating impact that this cut will have. Not only on the 41,072 people who rely on it to keep a roof over their heads, but potentially on a wider migration and accommodation system in this country. Already since the government announced its intention to cut the ARP, an increasing number of hosting arrangements are ending. A Red Cross survey of hosts found that the current rate of 600 Euros is important for 86% of them to continue hosting. If even a fraction of that 86% stop hosting because they simply can't afford it anymore, what's that going to mean? It's going to mean thousands, tens of thousands of newly homeless people. Overwhelmingly women, families, children. These people won't have the right to emergency accommodation. So very many of them will have no choice but to go on the street. That's the consequence of this decision. Is that what the government wants? Is that what Sinn Féin wants? Sinn Féin's contribution to this debate, not just today, but every time we've discussed it, has simply been to say go after the Ukrainians harder, make it even more difficult for them than the government wants to make it for them to be able to access accommodation. The Sinn Féin amendment also manufactures a non-existing conflict between the ARP and the Rent-a-Room scheme by saying that ARP hosts must not have availed of the scheme in the last two years. A landlord can earn 1,166 Euros a month tax-free under the Rent-a-Room scheme compared to 600 now, 400 Euros in the future on the ARP. Nobody who was solely motivated by money would be choosing the ARP over the Rent-a-Room scheme. It's not competing with the private rental market. The vast majority of hosts are hosting people in their own home out of humanitarian concern, a humanitarian motivation. But with this cut, many of them simply won't be able to do it anymore. The only other result open to many Ukrainians forced out of their homes as a result of this cut will be to apply for international protection. What happens if tens of thousands of people do that? Then the system becomes even more overwhelmed. That's what happened in France when over 11,000 applications for international protection were made by Ukrainians last year. Again, is that what the government wants? Is that what Sinn Féin wants? They might not, but they seem prepared to take the risk that that's what's going to happen for the perceived political gain by being seen to be hard on immigration and hard on Ukrainians in particular. It is a glaring contradiction for the government in particular, hosting Zelensky in Dublin, talking about doing everything we can for the Ukrainian people, praising them. And then on the other hand, turfing tens of thousands of Ukrainians out onto the streets. The temporary protection transition scheme due to open for applications in September is to be limited to households who are earning at least €29,432 a year and have somehow managed to pay for accommodation privately out of that. AARP recipients are not eligible. With average rents at €21,060 a year, that would be some achievement when the median wage of a Ukrainian worker, according to CSO, is less than €30,000.