The Irish authorities spent as much as €1 million a month to deal with pets owned by refugees, the Irish Mirror has revealed
Irish taxpayers footed the invoice for accommodating almost 2,000 pets owned by Ukrainian refugees, together with some they acquired after arriving within the nation, in keeping with native media.
The cash was allotted by the Division of Integration largely in 2022, with peak spending recorded in November that yr, the Irish Mirror reported on Wednesday, primarily based by itself investigation. At the moment, 1,806 pets have been staying in lodges and different properties on the state’s expense, together with 933 canines, 819 cats, and 54 different animals.
It value Eire as much as €20 ($21.50) per night time for every of the animals owned by Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Non permanent Safety (BOTPs), information reviewed by the information outlet revealed.
The precise sum spent particularly on non-human visitors couldn’t be established as a result of the division “didn’t categorize between BOTPs and pets,” a spokesperson instructed the newspaper.
The Irish Mirror estimated that lodging for the animals was costing taxpayers simply over €1 million ($1.07) monthly.
The expenditure was “unimaginable” and “ridiculous,” unbiased lawmaker Michael McNamara instructed the newspaper, accusing the federal government of wastefulness. Referring to division officers, he requested: “What planet do these folks reside on?”
“I presume the folks arriving right here with pets have been ready to pay for them in the identical manner as everybody else does or as they’d have in Ukraine,” the politician added. “However if you happen to discover a division silly sufficient to pay, then, in fact, I wouldn’t blame folks for permitting the division to pay for it.”
The division stated it stopped offering lodging for Ukrainian pets from November 9, 2022.
The newest report is a follow-up on a narrative that the Irish Mirror printed in February, revealing that the Irish Division of Agriculture had spent €808,132 (about $869,000) on transport, kennelling and veterinary providers for Ukrainian pets.
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