Progress on placing Ukrainian refugees in pledged properties offered by families continues to be slow, the Cabinet will be told on Wednesday.
Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman will update Ministers on the ongoing lack of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants. It is understood Mr O’Gorman will tell the Cabinet what progress has been made in sourcing vacant properties from religious orders and will outline what accommodation is in use across the board. Progress on placing refugees through voluntary pledges by private households remains slow and the Cabinet will discuss this at the meeting.
Last week, the Government issued an urgent appeal for hotels and guest houses to house Ukrainian refugees and is offering payments of €135 a night for single adults.
Applications opened on Tuesday for a monthly €400 payment for households accommodating Ukrainian refugees.
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More than 40,000 refugees have arrived from Ukraine to date, with an average of 1,400 arriving each week. Ministers have been told the flow may continue at this rate for the rest of the year. A Coalition source said on Tuesday that the situation remains “difficult”.
Separately, Mr O’Gorman will also bring a memo in relation to the excavation of remains at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam. He will be seeking approval to establish what is called the office of director of authorised intervention on Tuam. This is the agency that will oversee the work on the site. It is understood the total cost is €15 million, minus €2.5 million already received from the Bon Secours sisters.
After Cabinet approval, a resolution will have to be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas to set up the agency. Before then, there will be work in the department to establish the office and perform environmental assessments of the site.
Meanwhile, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien will seek Cabinet approval for a €186 million multiannual grant-funding package for the Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). Sources said this funding will provide transport, water and public park infrastructure to facilitate more than 8,700 new homes. Another memo from his department will seek to bring around a priority drafting of new legislation to provide maternity leave for councillors.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will update Ministers on plans to continue with the scaling back of Covid-19 testing, while Minister for Education Norma Foley will bring a memo confirming the free school transport initiative for eligible pupils, which was announced earlier this month.
It is understood that Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Chief Whip Jack Chambers will bring a memo to limit pre-legislative scrutiny on Bills to eight weeks, which they will say is to avoid delays and bottlenecks to legislation.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will bring a memo on his plans to allow a limited amount of State aid to certain businesses to help them with additional costs arising from the war in Ukraine. Two separate schemes are being proposed. The first is a grant scheme that has already been submitted to the European Commission for approval. The second is a new loan scheme that will require legislation, which will also be sent to the commission shortly.
The new schemes will allow the State to help businesses whose undertakings are severely affected by significant increases in natural gas and electricity costs, as well as other costs due to the Russian invasion. It is thought that both will be limited, targeted schemes, aimed at high energy users in manufacturing and/or internationally traded services. Any business that avails of the aid will be expected to have a sustainability plan in place including details on how they intend to become more energy efficient.
