I move amendment No. 1: To insert after "on 2nd July, 2026": "and: further calls on the Government to provide that the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) scheme shall apply only to: — existing recipients with respect to the beneficiaries of temporary protection currently benefitting from the scheme where those beneficiaries of temporary protection have satisfied a means test similar to those applicable for other housing assistance payments; — new applications who propose to host a beneficiary of temporary protection in their property which is also their own primary residence and who have not availed of the Rent-a-Room Scheme in the previous 24 months; ensuring that the ARP does not further distort the rental sector; and — recipients who are not in receipt of any additional or 'top-up' payments from a beneficiary of temporary protection.". The Minister and Minister of State know that Sinn Féin and I have been raising serious concerns about the Ukrainian ARP scheme for a long time. It is interesting that the Minister of State suggests that the motion is about returning to the original intention behind the scheme. That is a tacit acknowledgement that there was a move away from the original intention. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the onset of war, there was an enormous and generous response from the Irish people, particularly those who opened their homes and their spare rooms to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Those people absolutely deserve to be commended. When the ARP scheme was brought before the House, there was absolutely unanimous support for it. However, Government moved away from the original intention behind that scheme, at one stage increasing the payment to €800 per month. That was a tax-free payment given directly to landlords, with no means test applied. This meant that a person who was on more wages than someone who was in desperate need of housing could benefit from the scheme when the latter could not. The exclusionary nature of the scheme, available to Ukrainians fleeing war but not to anybody from anywhere else in the world, including Irish citizens in this State, led to heightened division in communities all over the country. We in Sinn Féin repeatedly brought people's concerns to the attention of the Government, but we were repeatedly ignored. Likewise, it ignored the concerns repeatedly brought to its attention regarding the impact this was having on the private rental market in certain areas. For several years, the Government refused point-blank to acknowledge that this was having an impact on the private rental market until the Department of housing's reports highlighted out what was already blatantly obvious. The scheme was being utilised by landlords to receive tax-free payments in respect of which they could demand top-up payments from tenants or residents but with none of the obligations that would apply in respect of other tenants in a dwelling. It took a huge amount of effort and wherewithal to drag the Government to a place where it finally and reluctantly acknowledged that there were serious problems with this scheme. That is why we have seen the backtracking that has taken place over the past number of months, and the ultimate decision to bring the scheme to an end on 31 March 2027. What we still do not have is clarity as to what impact Government decisions will now have regarding private rental accommodation and the wider situation relating to housing. The truth is that after March of next year, there will be thousands of Ukrainians who will be moved from either ARP accommodation or State accommodation. Once again, in an all too familiar story, we will end up with a belated and, probably, knee-jerk response. The Government completely ignored the unfairness at the heart of this scheme regarding the putting in place of a housing support for one cohort, the members of which, nobody disputes, were in need of housing, but that was not available to any other cohort. It put in place non-means-tested housing assistance. That was deeply unfair and led to the heightened division which we have seen over the past number of years and which have been exploited by some nasty actors. Let us imagine a situation where two people on a factory floor whose earnings are the same are in need of housing. One is left to languish on a local authority housing list or, perhaps, does not even for that list and is forced to deal with the private rental market in circumstances where they are extorted. The other person, who earns the same wages and who, perhaps, has the same housing needs, because they were born in a particular place on the planet, has access to a housing support to which no means test applies and for which the landlord is getting a tax-free payment in respect of which a top-up can be paid. That is clearly a roadmap to create division and dissent. It is absolutely unforgivable. Everybody recognises and accepts that there was an emergency situation in 2022 and that there was a need to be nimble and introduce measures quickly. However, to allow that to continue for five years is inexcusable. That is why we have brought forward similar amendments on several occasions suggesting that a means test be introduced in order to ensure fairness. The Government rejected those amendments. Let us bring it back to the original intention. This payment should be for people who are accommodating, in their own homes, people fleeing war. Everybody accepts that is a good initiative which should be supported. In fact, that type of initiative should be expanded to other people in need of housing. Every time our amendments have been brought forward, the Government has rejected them and denied the existence of any of the issues at the heart of them. To their shame, other Opposition parties have also objected and refused to support the amendments to which I refer and called me all sorts of names for having the audacity to look for a bit of fairness and transparency in respect of all this. This scheme will end in March next year. We still do not have transparency regarding the number of dwellings that were utilised in the context of this scheme and that should and could have been available on the private rental market. That is the litmus test. In its documentation and reports, the Department of housing has acknowledged that this scheme had an impact on the private rental market, yet Government has consistently refused to divulge exactly how big that impact has been. That points to a fear on the part of the Government that if the figures were divulged, it would be seen to have used taxpayers' money to create a significant distortion, especially in areas where rents in the private rental market would traditionally have been lower. People have been denied housing as a result of this scheme. That is unacceptable. I say to those Opposition parties that have taken the opportunity to attack Sinn Féin every time the ARP comes up that they should read the Government's report, namely the regulatory impact analysis relating to the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. That set out very clearly what Sinn Féin has said time and time again in relation to the ARP scheme, namely, that it is having a negative impact on the private rental sector. That is beyond doubt. Dragging this out and then creating another cliff edge in March of next year will affect thousands of people whom we do not yet know how they are going to be housed and whether the Government is going to introduce something else that will further distort the private rental sector or the housing market. I ask the Minister and the Minister of State to learn from their mistakes and engage with all Members of this House and the appropriate committees before the very last minute, as has been standard up until now.

Sentiment score: -0.01