Cabinet has approved plans for a transition scheme for Ukrainian refugees who wish to remain in Ireland after the EU-wide temporary protection regime ends.
It will include requirements that an individual who wants to stay be employed with a minimum annual salary of €29,432. They must also have lived in Ireland for a minimum of one year as a beneficiary of temporary protection.
The current EU Temporary Protection Directive is due to end on March 4th, 2027.
A Department of Justice statement said that while it may be extended at EU level, “Ireland is now taking proactive measures to provide more certainty to people currently displaced by the war in Ukraine”.
Under the planned Temporary Protection Transition Scheme, permission to stay in Ireland will be granted for a period of up to two years, renewable for periods of two years thereafter.
Time on this permission will contribute towards naturalisation.
Other measures in the plans brought to Cabinet by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan include a phased withdrawal of State-contracted commercial accommodation. This will commence in August 2026 and be completed by March 2027.
The Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) monthly contribution rate will be set at €400 from October 2026, down from its current rate of €600 per month.
In a joint statement, O’Callaghan and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy said: “Our department will co-ordinate with the Irish Red Cross and the International Organisation for Migration to provide information and support to those currently in receipt of State-provided accommodation as they progress towards greater independence.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee asked Government colleagues to note the proposed signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine in relation to co-operation on cyber security.
Separately, changes will be made to Ireland’s work-permit system to support the construction, healthcare, transport and agri-food sectors in recruiting foreign workers amid European Union-wide labour shortages.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke briefed the Cabinet on Tuesday on the outcome of the 2025 Review of Employment Permits Occupations Lists, which have been enacted through secondary legislation.
As part of reforms to the permit system based on the current labour market, there will be 28 updates to employment permit eligibility, including six new roles added in the area of critical skills and nine new roles in the category of general permits without quotas.
There will be several construction roles newly eligible to assist in addressing Ireland’s housing shortage.
A Government spokesman said the measures are “part of the Government’s balanced approach to migration”.
“We are prioritising long-term domestic workforce development while addressing immediate skills gaps and maintaining safeguards, including pay thresholds and quotas,” he said.
The new critical skills roles include construction planners, geospatial surveyors and community eyecare ophthalmic opticians.
The new general permit roles include healthcare pharmaceutical technicians, dental hygienists, plastic lining technicians, steel fixers and concrete pump operators.
All roles changed during the review process will be subject to the existing employment permit rules.
Meanwhile, Burke is making changes aimed at keeping care services running. A 50:50 rule will be relaxed to allow healthcare providers hire more non‑EEA (European Economic Area) staff, such as healthcare assistants, when they can’t find enough local workers.
In the short term, this will allow a 40:60 staff split in key care roles between EEA and non-EEA staff.
This is to be done without scrapping the overall rules on balanced hiring and a prioritisation of Irish and EU workers.