Roughly one-third of all Ukrainians who sought refuge in Ireland following the Russian invasion in February 2022 will soon receive less financial support, news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday (May 14) citing the Irish government. The benefit cut will affect an estimated 27,000 persons.

Starting in August, all those Ukrainians living in state accommodation will receive 38.80 euros, down from currently 220 euros, according to Reuters. The government said it wants to align the system more closely with those of other European countries.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland said she is "concerned" about the proposed changes, Ireland's national broadcaster RTE reported on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, close to half of the some 100,000 Ukrainians who fled to Ireland since Russia's full-scale invasion live in hotels, guesthouses and other state-provided accommodation. There, they are provided with meals and other services. Half a year ago, the number was close to 60,000.

The 47,000 housed in state accommodation reportedly include some of the 19,000 Ukrainians who are employed and don't receive welfare payments.

For Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Ireland after mid-March this year, benefits had already been cut to 38.80 euros earlier this year.

According to Reuters, the 18,750 Ukrainians not living in state accommodation will still receive 220 euros a week. Ireland's Central Statistics Agency estimates that up to 23,000 of those who arrived from Ukraine since February 2022 may have since left the country, Reuters reported.

Read more: Irish government 'very concerned' about asylum seekers sleeping in tents, amid housing shortage

Cuts will hit one in three Ukrainians: minister

Providing housing for refugees, together with a sharp increase in asylum applications, has recently become a much bigger political issue in Ireland. The country has reportedly been struggling for years to build more affordable housing.

Effective Aid Ukraine, a charity supporting Ukrainian refugees, criticized the decision to pay Ukrainian refugees in state accommodation less. It argued that most of those affected would be elderly people and mothers, who are unable to seek work due to childcare needs.

Tom McEnaney, founder of the group, called the measures "draconian".

"The Irish people's response has been extraordinarily generous, and to a point the Irish government's response was exceptional, but this flies in the face of that generosity," he reportedly told national broadcaster RTE.

"We are going from being generous to being mean and cold hearted, and I think it's completely at odds with how the Irish people in general feel about Ukrainians who have no choice but to flee the war."

Ireland, a country of 5.3 million people, has one of the highest per capita rates of Ukrainian refugees.

Germany addresses Ukrainian refugees

Over the weekend, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly urged Ukrainian refugees in Germany to take up work.

As news site Euractiv reported, Scholz promised this would secure their right to stay as fewer than two in ten Ukrainians in Germany are currently employed.

With more than 1,25 million people, Germany is the EU country that has taken in the most Ukrainian refugees. However, according to the Polish Economic Institute, only about 18% were employed in January 2024, which is one of the lowest rates in the OECD.

Separately, on Wednesday, news broke that the German government was mulling incentives for Ukrainians to return to their home country voluntarily.

"We are considering how we could support people in making a new start in Ukraine," Svenja Schulze (SPD) told the Tagesspiegel news outlet. "Models of so-called circular migration, that is a temporary return, are also conceivable."

The main reason for this is the labor shortage in Ukraine due to the Russian war of aggression against the country, Zeit Online reported. No one will be forced though, Schulze reportedly said.

Days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), a set of measures meant to provide immediate but time-bound assistance to displaced people. 

The TPD, which was extended in October 2023 to this March, allowed millions of fleeing Ukrainians to immediately access healthcare, welfare, housing and employment. It also gave Ukrainians almost the same rights and privileges as local nationals.

So-called third-country nationals who also fled Ukraine, however, haven't been enjoying the same privileges.

Read more: Ukrainian refugees in Germany: Why few work for a living

with Reuters