A Ukrainian man living in Cavan since 2001 says he agrees with the Irish government's decision to cut social welfare payments to his fellow countrymen who fled the war to live in Ireland. Sergiy Balan came to Ireland in 2001 to learn English and, at first, worked at picking mushrooms on a farm.
Mr Balan is the National Chairperson of the Ukrainian Movement in Ireland. He thanked the Irish people for welcoming so many Ukrainians here. He told the Joe Finnegan Show the government is "right" to make the cuts because all new immigrants "should look forward to contributing to this country". The new rate paid to all refugees is €38.80 for adults and €29.80 for children.
Sergiy also said by cutting social welfare payments to asylum seekers, the government is "pushing people to do something" because if you arrive somewhere and have everything like healthcare provided there is no need for people to work. He also reminded listeners that the refugees who are living here "did not come here for a holiday but, to escape the war" and he said that a woman who arrived here with her children would find it hard to go out to work so the government should decide the welfare payments to refugees on a case-by-case basis.
