Ireland mulling cuts in supports for asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees

13/5/2024 19:20

        Ireland will this week consider making cuts to state support for asylum seekers and refugees, including those who arrived from Ukraine, in a bid to bring the system more in line with other European countries, Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Monday.
        
        Just over 100,000 Ukrainians have fled to Ireland since Russia's invasion in February 2022, while the number of asylum seekers from the rest of the world almost trebled from pre-pandemic levels to more than 13,000 in 2022 and 2023. So far this year, the number has jumped to 7,700.
        
        That has made immigration a much bigger political issue in the country of 5.3 million people, which is struggling to house refugees in the middle of a housing supply crisis.