Over 67,000 people have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine since war began

The number of people who have arrived in the State from Ukraine since the Russian invasion rose to 67,448 by December 11th, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The cumulative number increased by six per cent over the previous four weeks, according to the latest figures. In the equivalent release last month, the number of arrivals had increased by nine per cent over the previous four weeks, indicating a possible easing in the rate of arrivals at a time when people in Ukraine are being warned of the accommodation crisis here.

All but 20 per cent of the arrivals to date have been adult women, or males and females below the age of 20 years, according to the statistics. Slightly more than 1,100 people arrived in the week before December 11th, a similar figure to that recorded in the CSO’s November release.

The figures are based on the allocation of personal public service numbers (PPSNs) to people arriving from Ukraine since soon after the war began and may include people who came here but have since left, and exclude people who have arrived but not yet sought a PPSN number.

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Of the 64,168 arrivals who could be assigned to a location, the counties hosting the highest number of arrivals were Dublin (11,349), Kerry (6,493), and Cork (6,135). The counties with the lowest were Offaly (619), Longford (429) and Monaghan (418).

When the same figures were allocated to local electoral areas, the three with the most arrivals were Killarney (2,019) and Kenmare (1,750) in Co Kerry, and Ennistimon, Co Clare (1,705). The lowest were Castleisland, Co Kerry (23), Athlone, Co Roscommon (19) and Newport, Co Tipperary (17).

Examined in terms of arrivals as a percentage of total population, the data showed the percentage for Ennistimon was the highest (9.5), followed by Killarney (6.5) and Kenmare (6.4). The lowest were Athlone, Co Roscommon (0.08), Newport (0.09) and Castleisland (0.12).

In Dublin, the highest percentages per total population, broken down by electoral area, were Clondalkin (2.5), the north inner city (2.3), and Tallaght (2.2), while the lowest were Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (0.15), Ongar Fingal (0.19) and Rathfarnham Templeogue (0.21).

The statistics, which are the eight in a series of such announcements, show that 13,527 of the arrivals have enrolled in school with 64 per cent of these being in primary school and 36 per cent in secondary. Dublin had the highest number of arrivals enrolled (1,893) while Monaghan had the lowest (78).

The statistics indicate that the adult arrivals have a high standard of education but are encountering difficulty getting employment because of language issues.

There were 26, 870 active working age welfare claims, including jobseekers allowance claims, recorded by the CSO in the latest data release.

Of the 19,103 people whose highest level of education was recorded when they attended an event organised by Intreo, the employment service, 65 per cent had the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree or higher. A significant number of those who attended said English language proficiency was a challenge when trying to secure employment.

Of the cumulative total who have arrived to date, 7,999 are recorded as living in private accommodation with 3,820 hosts being in receipt of the Government’s accommodation recognition payment for accommodating them.

An EU directive in March, the Temporary Protection Directive, provided for the immediate protection in member states of people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.