Just under €60 million spent on accommodating Ukrainian refugees in Wicklow

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

The Government has spent just under €60 million to date on providing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees seeking refuge in County Wicklow.

The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration continues to work as part of the Government’s response to the war in Ukraine, with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation to those fleeing the conflict who request it, in line with Government policy.

This supports those affected to make longer term independent arrangements if they decide to remain in Ireland for the duration of the Temporary Protection Directive.

Following a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow John Brady, Migration Minister Jim O’Callaghan indicated that his Department currently has contracts with 15 properties in County Wicklow for the purpose of State-supported accommodation for people affected by the war in Ukraine.

These 15 properties range from 16 beds to 375 beds and collectively accommodate approximately 1,200 applicants. These contracts commenced between January and September of this year and are due to end between October 2025 and February 2026.

Figures obtained by Deputy Brady show in 2022 the total spent on accommodation reached €8,228,765.74 in 2022, €19,865,938.92 in 2023, €19,986,478.90 in 2024 and €10,885,457.00 in 2025 totalling €58,966,640.56.

These totals may not include all properties that were used for accommodation in County Wicklow as prior to 2024 payments were made manually and the information related to the county in which a property is located was not always recorded.

Minister O’Callaghan has also pointed out that Wicklow County Council, along with other local authorities, arranged emergency short-term accommodation in support of the Government's response.

The local authorities were assured in 2022 that they could recoup their costs incurred in making such arrangements.

The total recoupments paid by his Department to Wicklow County Council total just over €4.1 million in the same three-year timeframe.

It remains the case that where contracts between the Department and accommodation providers for those fleeing the war in Ukraine come to an end, the future use of the property is a commercial decision for the provider.