Tánaiste expects around 20,000 Ukrainian refugees in Ireland by end of March

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has joined those offering accommodation to Ukrainians fleeing the fighting and has predicted that there will be approximately 20,000 refugees in the State by the end of the month.

It is understand the number of Ukrainians in the country will hit around 10,000 on Sunday, when around 900 more refugees are expected to arrive.

Speaking on Saturday evening Mr Varadkar said he and his partner Matthew Barrett had registered to offer accommodation to refugees.

“Matt registered us three weeks ago. We have a spare room, so we got an acknowledgement,” he said.

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“What is happening now that people with a vacant property are being prioritised. Then we will get people who can provide a room. There will be 20,000 people who will be offered accommodation to and I ask people to be patient.”

Mr Varadkar raised the possibility that vacant Army barracks, hotels and B&Bs will be used to house those fleeing the war.

He said the preference was for refugees to have own-door accommodation, followed by living in other people’s homes and then communal living.

“Accommodation is our biggest challenge and we will be relying very much on hotels and B&B accommodation around the country,” he said.

“We will have to work out other alternatives for accommodation. Shared accommodation isn’t ideal, but it is the best that we can do for now. It’s a fact that we don’t have own-door accommodation for 20,000 people.”

Mr Varadkar visited the Ukrainian reception centre at the old terminal building in Dublin Airport on Saturday evening.

When refugees arrive they are registered, given PPS numbers and help with finding accommodation.

He spoke to some newly arrived Ukrainian refugees, one of whom said she felt like she was living in the pages of a history book; another compared it to a horror movie. "It's not a horror movie, it's real and happening in 21st-century Europe, " Mr Varadkar said.

One woman had left her husband and 18-year-old son behind. Both had signed up to fight the Russians.

The refugees had arrived in Ireland after a stressful journey but expressed "enormous relief and hope" at the reception they were receiving, Mr Varadkar added.

“It is going to be a real challenge to manage this over the next few weeks and months, but we will do the right thing by Ukrainian people who have called to us for their assistance.”

Many had expressed a desire to work in Ireland and their qualifications will be recognised as far as is possible, Mr Varadkar added.

More than 80 per cent of Ukrainian refugees are arriving through Dublin Airport.

There are plans to expand the reception centre at Dublin Airport to Cork and Shannon airports too. There will also be a facility in Citywest Hotel, Mr Varadkar said.

When asked what he was going to do about rising oil and gas prices, he said the Government had already committed €1 billion to alleviating cost-of-living pressures that people were facing.

It was up to the European Commission to decide what else can be done, but he warned: "I need to be honest with people. The price of energy, petrol and diesel isn't set by the Government. It is an international price."