The State is to terminate more than 500 contracts with hotels and other accommodation housing more than 16,000 Ukrainian refugees.
The move, approved by the Cabinet committee on migration on Monday, gives effect to previously flagged moves as part of an effort to wind down the system of accommodation and support for people fleeing the war.
It is expected the measures will go to Cabinet shortly for approval, with contracts expected to wind down in the coming 12-month period. Government sources said 522 contracts would be affected.
The State has been attempting to wean itself off hotels being used to house Ukrainians for several years, with complaints from the tourism sector and local communities about being deprived of capacity.
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The move is being advanced by Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
It will see the withdrawal of State-contracted accommodation to about 16,000 people, most of whom have been in receipt of the service since before March of 2024 when the government adjusted the rights to accommodation for new arrivals from Ukraine.
Government sources said provisions would be made to accommodate highly vulnerable people and those with “barriers to independence”, although they will have to apply and self-declare their need for accommodation and provide supporting evidence.
The Coalition has already agreed to wind down the accommodation recognition payment scheme, which previously paid €800 a month to those providing beds in homes for Ukrainians.
This is being stepped down to €400 per month in May, and will be wrapped up in March of next year.
[ Fees paid to top 10 asylum-accommodation providers exceeded €300m in 2025Opens in new window ]
Ukrainians here will continue to be eligible for a weekly payment of €38.50 per adult and €29.80 per child, which is subject to an income test. This will continue until they return to Ukraine under a voluntary return programme.
There is work ongoing on within the European Union on the development of a voluntary return programme, which could see thousands of euro paid over to individuals and families living here but who have decided to return to the war-torn country.
The EU has played host to almost seven million people fleeing Ukraine, with 4.9 million actively accommodated in member states under the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), which gives Ukrainians the right to work, live and claim benefits within the EU.
Over the last two months, the Government has shut down two State-run accommodation centres which Ukrainian people were entitled to stay in for 30 days.
The Department of Justice confirmed that a 30-day accommodation centre in Kill, Co Kildare, was closed on March 20th and another, in Newhall, also in Co Kildare, closed on April 14th. There are now only two such accommodation centres left in the country: one in Punchestown, Co Kildare, and one in Wallslough, Co Kilkenny.
The top 10 private providers of accommodation to international protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees received €313 million in 2025, according to figures supplied to the Committee of Public Accounts.
