Ukrainians consider Christmas trips home but deterred by high cost of travel

Karina Karpova thought about flying home to Ukraine through Poland in December, after the Government said Ukrainians could leave the country for Christmas without losing their State-funded accommodation.

But when she looked at the price of flights, it became clear it was out of the question.

“They said Ukrainians could go, but now the ticket prices have gone up. I don’t know what to do. My work will allow me to travel, but it’s a terrible price to go through Poland,” she said.

“Everybody wants to return in the same period too, because if you don’t get back by that date, you lose your accommodation.”

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Under the Christmas exemption, any person who returns to Ireland after January 8th risks losing their accommodation. Ukrainians who do leave over the Christmas period must also continue paying the mandatory contribution charge to their accommodation provider, the Department of Integration has said.

The department said the travel exemption would entitle beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine to travel outside Ireland between December 22nd, 2022, and January 8th, 2023, without having any concern about losing their accommodation. Under the plan, confirmed last week, Ukrainians would not have to notify the authorities in advance of their plans.

“Nobody in my whole hotel in Killarney wants to leave, mostly because it is too expensive to return by this date, so they would lose accommodation. When you plan these things, you need more time so you can know the cost and save it. It’s too short,” Karpova said.

‘Ukraine is a large country, there are some parts that are safer than other parts right now. Maybe some people from different regions feel like going home, but I realised I would be putting myself in danger’

—  Karina Karpova, Ukrainian refugee

On Thursday, the cheapest return flights from Dublin to Rzeszow in Poland, a preferred destination for people travelling on to Ukraine, were €362 per person with Ryanair, departing the week before Christmas and returning before the travel exemption period runs out.

Return flights between Shannon Airport and Krakow were costing upwards of €600.

[ Russia-Ukraine war: More than 10,000 civilians killed in conflict so far, says UN ]

Two other Ukrainians said they hoped to avail of the travel exemption for the Christmas period but would not be able to due to the cost of travel at short notice.

Karpova was put off returning home because her home in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is situated close to the Russian border.

“Ukraine is a large country, there are some parts that are safer than other parts right now. Maybe some people from different regions feel like going home, but I realised I would be putting myself in danger,” she said.

“My city is under fire. What would I do? Go to a burning city? I don’t want to see my city like that. There are no safe places, anything can change in a day, and the reason we are here in Ireland is for our safety.”

The travel exemption for Ukrainians follows the introduction in early October of a protocol which means Ukrainian refugees can no longer leave their State-provided accommodation unless it is under “exceptional circumstances”.

[ Ukrainian refugees to pay for accommodation, have social welfare benefits changed, says Varadkar ]

Before the new protocol, refugees could leave their accommodation for a maximum of seven days over a six-month period.

Any person planning to stay away longer than January 8th can relinquish their accommodation before travelling or request new accommodation on their return, a department spokeswoman said.

“If they have a medical reason to stay away longer, this can be sanctioned in advance,” she said.

Asked why the State had introduced this Christmas travel exemption for Ukrainians, the spokeswoman said the Government was conscious that many of these refugees had family in other EU countries, and in Ukraine, with whom they wished to spend time.

“While they are away, as long as they comply with the policy, their beds will be kept for them,” she said.

As of November 21st, the State was providing accommodation to 100,288 Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants from other countries

The exemption does not apply to those staying with host families, in pledged accommodation or modular housing. These are entitled to make travel arrangements as they wish.

The department noted that parents or legal guardians could not travel over Christmas and leave children unaccompanied in accommodation under any circumstances. It said it would not take responsibility for personal effects during the Christmas period and that the Ukraine Crisis Temporary Accommodation Team had the right to dispose of any items left in storage longer than 60 days.

[ Ireland spent more than €900m last year helping Ukrainian refugees ]

As of November 21st, the State was providing accommodation to 100,288 Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants from other countries.

Of these, 74,775 have fled the war in Ukraine and 25,510 others are living in State-provided accommodation while they await a decision on their asylum claim.

An average of 62 Ukrainian refugees have continued to arrive in Ireland every day over the past month.

Dublin is hosting the highest number of Ukrainian refugees, followed by counties Kerry, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Clare and Mayo, according to Central Statistics Office data.

More than 9,500 people are staying in homes and rooms pledged by the Irish public, while more than 49,300 beds in hotels, hostels and commercial self-catering accommodation are being used to accommodate others.

A presentation to the Cabinet committee on Ukraine last month, seen by The Irish Times, said Ireland’s pipeline of suitable accommodation becoming available in future was “narrowing significantly”.

A recent presentation from the Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman proposed restricting accommodation for Ukrainians to only 90 days, before being sent to the private sector, as potential accommodation coming on stream through refurbishment, rapid and modular builds were “not at a scale to meet demand” and were “ultimately limited in terms of overall scale of challenge”.