Deloitte consultants paid €7.6m for advice and support to State on dealing with Ukrainian refugees

The Government has paid out €7.6 million to external consultants to assist in dealing with people arriving in Ireland from Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.
The fees were paid to Deloitte Management Consultants by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said the contract with Deloitte was initially aimed at assisting with the delivery of his department’s humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, “at rapid pace and scale, in a resource-constrained environment”.
The Minister told the Dáil in an answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats that “Deloitte now continues to assist the Ukraine division [in his department] with continuous process improvements, consolidation, and streamlining of essential operations in addition to providing strategic advisory support”.
The department said on Wednesday its contract with Deloitte had been in place since shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Since March 2022, Deloitte have provided resources with the skills, experience and expertise to support the work of the department in managing and implementing our response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the provision of short-term emergency accommodation to people fleeing that war,” it said in a statement.
Ms Murphy said that while it originally intended the management consultants would act in a role assisting the Department of Integration, “now it appears Deloitte are delivering the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine”.
She noted a report in The Irish Times on Wednesday saying that Government officials are looking at scaling back supports for Ukrainians. “I am now questioning where this direction is coming from, is it officials or consultants?” she asked. “Granted, the invasion of Ukraine gave rise to a sudden and large movement of people and a response was required. We are two years on from that and it is time for the department to take direct control and responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Simon Harris has backed away from policy options being developed by officials that could see Ukrainians not being offered accommodation after they arrive in Ireland.
The options, first reported in The Irish Times, were developed by senior officials over the summer and also included a potential “maximum stay” rule aimed at Ukrainians living in State housing for long periods and ending accommodation for those who earn above a certain threshold.
Mr Harris told reporters in Washington DC on Wednesday that although he did not want to be critical of officials and such matters should be kept under review, he was not in favour of further restrictions.
“No proposals have come to Cabinet but my view, for what it is worth, is that we have made a lot of changes in relation to Ukrainian people coming to Ireland. I think we are at the outer limits of that now. I don’t see a compelling case, being very honest, for more changes.”
He said work was focused on international protection applicants, including the potential introduction of a contribution charge for asylum seekers.