On December 11, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook user Eduard Jishkariani published a post about a possible reduction of financial aid for Ukrainian refugees in Ireland. In addition, Jishkariani writes that Ukrainian refugees in Georgia live in hotels, eat for free in the nearest restaurant, study in schools and kindergartens for free, go on excursions and entertainment events, and receive 1,000 GEL per person.
The author of the post spreads partly false information about the aid to Ukrainian refugees. The government of Georgia provides various types of assistance to Ukrainian citizens permanently staying in the country; however, the program of the Tbilisi City Hall, by which Ukrainian citizens were accommodated in hotels, was stopped in 2022, and the monetary assistance given to them was not 1,000 GEL per person, but 300 GEL per family, and 45 GEL per person.
The post mentions that Ukrainian refugees live in hotels in Georgia. The program of the Tbilisi City Hall, which provided accommodation in various hotels and three meals for them, was indeed launched after the start of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war in March, but it was stopped on August 1, 2022. According to the City Hall, the amount spent during this period reached 14 million GEL. Speaking about the reasons for the termination of the program, the mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, explained that the refugees could rent an apartment with the money allocated for their families, because “Georgia is not only Tbilisi.”
As the press service of the Tbilisi City Hall told “Myth Detector”, at the moment (12/12/2023), citizens of Ukraine enjoy various benefits in Georgia, municipal services are free for them – including public transport, sports, and entertainment centers, kindergartens. Also, according to the decree of December 30, 2022, of the Government of Georgia “On the approval of state health protection programs,” the citizens of Ukraine who are staying permanently in the country are provided with medical services.
According to the 9-month implementation report of the 2023 budget published by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, in accordance with the government decree issued on July 13, 2022, the social services agency gave 300 GEL per month to a family, and 45 GEL to a person “to ensure living conditions”.
“For this purpose, assistance was provided to 1,795 families (3,420 persons) in January, 2,061 families (3,929 persons) in February, 2,133 families (4,072 persons) in March, 1,978 families (3,787 persons) in April, 1,967 families (3,728 people), in June – 1,556 families (2,959 people), in July – 2,029 families (3,804 people), in August – 1,877 families (3,488 people) and in September – 206 families (339 people); In addition, the agency provided funding for hotel accommodation and three-course meal service in accordance with the same decree. In total, 6.0 million GEL was used for the mentioned purposes in the reporting period. – reads the document.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2023, the Georgian government has not made a decision, by which the aid to Ukrainian refugees was determined at 1,000 GEL per person, and the program for free hotel accommodation is currently suspended – therefore, the information voiced in the Facebook post is partly false.
In addition to Georgia, the post mentions Ireland as well. On December 12, Ireland supported an initiative to reduce the period of resettlement of Ukrainian refugees by the state to 90 days, as well as the support given to them from €220 to €38.80 per week. This support is provided during the time refugees are in government-sponsored accommodation, and the support for refugees will increase when they leave the centres. For Ukrainian refugees with children, the support will be maintained at €140 per month. According to the decision, Ireland will strengthen efforts to employ people from Ukraine. The changes should take effect from the beginning of 2024.
About the Source
Georgian-language Facebook user Eduard Jishkariani often publishes anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian content, including disinformation. “Myth Detector” has debunked the false information disseminated by Jishkariani a number of times in the past.
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