Immediate Release, 16 January 2025

The Irish Refugee Council, in a statement responding to the draft Programme for Government, highlights significant opportunity for the new administration but raises concern about some commitments in the document.

Irish Refugee Council CEO Nick Henderson said:

“We wish the new government well and look forward to working collaboratively and constructively with the new ministers and civil servants to address challenges faced by people seeking protection and refugees. This government will oversee one of the most significant overhauls of protection policy in years, through the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. It has a significant opportunity to shape a protection process that supports people and communities and meets our human rights obligations.

The Programme for Government includes some welcome commitments around integration, investing in more State-owned centres, staffing and providing emergency accommodation to everyone and meeting the information needs of communities. However, we are also concerned by many of the commitments. The document makes approximately 49 commitments relating to international protection. In our analysis, 26 of these are restrictive. A focus on restrictive measures will not solve longstanding issues in the international protection process. Multiple statements around deterrence should not be equated with a set of policies that proactively managed this issue.

Several commitments are particularly concerning, for example that applicants are provided with accommodation with restrictions on their freedom of movement and requesting contributions towards accommodation costs. Recent research show that people are living in, or at risk of, poverty, in accommodation centres which are failing to meet basic needs and that people who are working are often in precarious employment. These commitments appear unnecessary and punitive, and it is not immediately clear how they comply with current law. In contrast, there are only two mentions of supporting people in need of protection and no mentions of human rights obligations in the context of this issue.

While we welcome the government’s commitment to provide emergency accommodation for everyone who needs it, it is notable that the launch of this programme for government coincides with a record number of international protection applicants (3,220) who are without accommodation. It is of deep concern that there is no mention of this issue and how it can be resolved. While a commitment to reduce the use of hotels for accommodating people seeking protection and to use State lands to develop appropriate State-owned facilities is welcome, this will need significant detail, development and investment. The new government does not start with a blank slate.

A significant omission is also any mention of a policy to support refugees from Ukraine who are here on temporary protection, including whether the Accommodation Recognition Payment will be continued. Temporary Protection will continue until March 2026.

There is also no mention of the International Protection Child Payment. This was promised by the government and has received allocations in budgets 2024 and 2025 but not drawn down and implemented. It was described as, and remains, a crucial measure to prevent child poverty.”

Notes for Editors

  • Draft Programme for Government is here:
  • 10 Key Actions to End Homelessness published by the Irish Homelessness Policy Group here. The Irish Refugee Council is a member of the group of 11 organisations supporting and advocating for homeless people.
  • Civil society election manifesto recommendations for political parties available here.
  • Working Paper: Estimating the MESL costs for families in Direct Provision is available here.
  • If I Don’t Do This, Then It Won’t Be Done- Volunteering with Homeless Protection Applicants report, we launched recently captures the harrowing experiences of volunteers supporting homeless international protection applicants, is available here.
  • Now I Live On The Road report launched in 2023 documented the experiences of homeless international protection applicants is available here.
  • Accommodation Crisis Report that put forward the recommendation to, among others, have a dedicated Refugee Response Director here.
  • Exploring the Experiences of Families and Children in Direct Provision 2023 report is available here.

For further information contact:

Nick Henderson, CEO, nick@irishrefugeecouncil.ie, 0858585559

Wendy Muperi, Communications Officer, wendy@irishrefugeecouncil.ie, 0858550434.