Officials in the Department of Integration pushed back against moves to end the practice of paying for the pets of Ukrainian refugees to stay in hotels, which was costing taxpayers up to €1 million a month.
These included both pets that had travelled to Ireland from Ukraine with their owners, and animals that refugees had acquired since arriving in the country. One official set out this position in a group email, advocating that “from this point on, we don’t accommodate pets – certainly not if purchased here”.
The official highlighted that there were “multiple benefits” to having a companion animal and claimed that some children even use their pets “to talk about their life”. In response to this concern, a department official suggested that those awkward conversations could be avoided if refugees were sent letters about the changes instead. “Do we write to them then?” she asked.