A briefing paper has shown that Ireland has the highest weekly social welfare payments to Ukrainian refugees in the EU. In most cases, accommodation, access to medical care, and other supports are also provided.
The paper, Comparative social welfare rates across the EU in the context of Temporary Protection, provides background and data on comparative social welfare rates of payment across EU States in respect of unemployment and old age pension.
In relation to Ireland, it states that Ukrainians living here under the Temporary Protection Directive are entitled to a payment of €220 weekly. Other EU states and the UK pay between €7.90 and €131.45 per week, with most countries limiting payments where accommodation and supports are provided.
Source: Data from ‘Comparative social welfare rates across the EU in the context of Temporary Protection’.
In the Czech Republic, for example, an equivalent to €42 weekly “is provided in the first month to all refugees who are holders of temporary protection. In the event that they continue to be in financial distress and poor social conditions, the state can pay a benefit of CZK 5,000 six times in total, with the fact that it already verifies the financial situation from the second payment.”
However, the paper notes that “refugees who have been provided free accommodation, including all-day meals and basic hygiene items, are not entitled to such humanitarian benefit.”
Ukrainians in Ireland were previously provided with free meals but a directive earlier this year from the Irish government advised that a €10 per adult and €5 per child each day be charged for food.
Ireland also offers child benefit on top of the Jobseekers Allowance of €220 per week, and Ukrainian students in Ireland who attend third level courses have access to fee and grant supports. A Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is also available, as is the Carer’s Allowance or Disability Allowance.
In relation to weekly payments to refugees from Ukraine, France offers €47.60 for those accommodated per week, and €99.40 per week for those not accommodated, the briefing paper details.
In Italy, €75 per week is payable for those in independent accommodation. Different but lower rates apply for those staying in State provided facilities, subsidised hotels and with families.
In Bulgaria, €180 one time financial assistance is available. Monthly social assistance may be made, subject to provision of voluntary work in some cases.
Asylum seekers in Belgium are “entitled to material assistance while their asylum application is being examined. This assistance initially concerns basic needs: a place to sleep, meals, clothing, and access to sanitary facilities. Asylum seekers therefore do not receive financial support. If the asylum seeker resides in an official reception centre, this centre provides all the basic needs: shelter, meals, medical care. The centre also organises individualised social support. Adult asylum seekers receive €7.90 in pocket money per week,” the report said.
The review was carried out by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service using data supplied by the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Development.
The Business Post had previously reported that the Department of Children had “previously carried out its own “comparative analysis” of supports for Ukrainian refugees across the EU earlier this year but the full review was not published”.
The paper says that Ukrainians have permission to reside in Ireland for a period of 1 year, and the permission may be extended for further periods after that, in addition to:
• full access to the labour market
• access to accommodation, if needed
• social welfare income supports
• access to education
• access to medical care.
“Those qualifying under the Temporary Protection Directive, if aged under 66, are generally entitled to a Jobseeker’s Allowance payment. People aged 66 and over get a Supplementary Welfare Allowance before being transferred to a State Pension (Non-Contributory). As of 1 January 2023, the Jobseekers Allowance payment is €220 weekly and Non-Contributory State Pension payment is €254 per week or €264 for those aged 80.”
ASYLUM SEEKERS
The paper details that, in the case of non-Ukrainian asylum seekers living in Direct Provision, their entitlement includes:
• Accommodation
• Meals
• A weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child
• A medical card
Asylum seekers not living in Direct Provision receive no state assistance (such as a financial allowance, housing support costs, medical costs), the paper said.
HEALTH WARNING
The briefing paper from the Oireachtas Library and Research Service notes that “the data presented in this paper comes with a significant health warning.” The data on social welfare rates, specifically basic unemployment payment rates, is not strictly comparable and is not a case of comparing ‘like with like’.
“The rationale for this is set out further in the paper, but overall, the public administration legacy, social policy trajectory, level of coverage, legislative framework, per capita income, currency, tax/welfare indexation and thereafter levels of public expenditure differ in each of the EU or Euro area States assessed.”
“Linked to this, the rates cited below do not take account of ‘out of pocket’ payments across States, where in some States allied social and public services may be fully or partially funded by the State, while in other jurisdictions citizens are required to pay for such services either fully or in part ‘out of pocket’. For this reason, the data cannot be seen as comparable. Where any comparisons are made, they should be accompanied by the above caution.”
It also noted that details on social payment assistance for some EU-27 Countries ranges from one time financial assistance to some form of social assistance with the support – in some cases – of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “In addition, in other cases, it was not possible to discern the publicly quoted Euro rate for what social assistance may be available,” the paper said.
The review also compared social protection expenditure in general across EU states. The average expenditure on social protection per head of population across the EU 27 in 2020 was €9,536.30, the paper said. “This varied in range from €16,554.60 in Luxembourg to €3,257.71 in Bulgaria. The corresponding figure for Ireland in 2020 was €8,173.40.”
