Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2026: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-24
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

When the war in Ukraine broke out people came to Ireland in desperate need of safety and the Irish people responded with extraordinary kindness. They opened their homes to victims of war and that is something we should all be proud of. However, what started out as well-intentioned emergency response has created inequality between refugees and Irish citizens and a great little tax-free earner for potential landlords. We debated the topic of ARP in the Chamber last year and once again I support the amendment to have the payment means tested. The reality is that this scheme is not fair. As of May 2025, over 26,000 Ukrainians benefitting from temporary protection were in employment. It is not fair for working people who are struggling to save for a home and who are locked out of the rental market. Surely, equality for all would mean treating everybody as equal. People are not being treated equally on this scheme. The scheme needs reform, and it needs to be means tested. Given that so many Ukrainian refugees were women with young children it would be careless to immediately pull financial support, but we need to determine if that support is actually needed. The Government has presented no logical argument against establishing a means test for the payment. I encourage the Minister to support the amendment and bring a sense of fairness to this scheme.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-24