LAST UPDATE | 8 Mar 2022
OVER 2,000 PEOPLE who have fled Ukraine have arrived in Ireland so far, with about 640 of them staying in hotels.
Two-thirds of those who have arrived are staying with family members but Cabinet today discussed detailed proposals for future accomodation options.
Among the housing proposals being considered are hotels, modular homes and even Defence Forces facilities.
About 40% of those fleeing the Russian invasion and arriving in Ireland are children, with the need for interpreters an issue that is being stressed.
The UN has said that more than two million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion less than two weeks ago.
This number is likely to increase in the coming weeks and the Irish government is therefore not speculating on the number of refugees this country is likely to accept.
Ireland’s approach is being coordinated with the EU and has reportedly led to friction with the UK government.
The Telegraph newspaper quoted a British government source as saying “Ireland has basically opened the door to everyone in Ukraine, which creates a problem due to the Common Travel Area”.
“We’ve seen before with migrants from Albania that they have come through Dublin, into Belfast and across to the mainland to Liverpool. That’s created a drug cartel route,” the source is reported to have told The Telegraph.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed in the Dáil this afternoon that there have been discussions between the Minister of Justice Helen McEntee and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel
“We have pointed out to the UK that we are part of a European Union-wide response in waiving visa requirements. It is a humanitarian response. That will continue to be our position in respect of prioritising the humanitarian response above and beyond anything else,” Martin said.
Speaking earlier today, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said he “regrets the UK’s approach” to refugee policy.
As of today, the UK’s Home Office said that 500 visas have been issued with more than 10,000 applications submitted.
After a Cabinet meeting this morning, Donnelly was asked about the reported security concerns of the UK government.
“Ireland is making the right decisions. Ireland is making the decisions as part of the European response. I regret UK’s current position,” he said.
I would love to see the UK in line with what Europe is doing but obviously but that is a matter entirely for them. Certainly from Ireland’s perspective, we will continue to open our country and our communities and our public services to these refugees coming in, it is the right thing to do.
Visa requirements are being waived for Ukrainians who travel to Ireland and Department of Justice has said that it aims to “streamline and support the swift exit” of Ukrainians with family members who are Irish citizens, and Ukrainians with family members are residents in Ireland and who are also from Ukraine.
Additionally, the European Union has decided to grant temporary protection to people fleeing from Ukraine that will enable them to live, work and study in EU countries with a residence permit.
Donnelly was speaking at the launch of the government’s Women’s Health Action Plan and said that refugees arriving here would be assessed for their health needs.
We will do everything that needs to be done. We could be talking about a large number of people, we could be talking about tens of thousands of people. Does it create an additional effort of pressure on the system? Of course, of course it does. I’m very conscious that some people find it it hard to get access to a GP at the moment and that those coming in must have health assessments. We must make sure they have access to primary care, community care, hospital care. They will all have medical cards.
He added: “Some people are going to come in, they’re going to need hospital care very quickly, some are going to need treatment for underlying conditions, chronic diseases very quickly. Some people are going to need mental health supports very quickly.”
Portal
The government yesterday opened an online portal for people who want to register and offer accommodation to Ukrainian refugees who arrive into the country. So far, more than 6,000 pledges of accommodation have been made.
Following today’s Cabinet meeting, a government statement said that the “scale and scope of the potential implications” from the Russian invasion was discussed.
It added that “crisis measures” may be enacted to deliver the required response.
On the security situation, the Taoiseach told ministers today that Russian forces are continuing to attack on multiple fronts but that progress has been slower that Russian generals anticipated.
Russian forces continue to face stiff resistance from the Ukrainian armed forces who are beginning to run out of military hardware and ammunition.
Cabinet also heard that the Department of Foreign Affairs remains in ongoing contact with around 52 Irish citizens registered in Ukraine though this number fluctuates as people depart and others newly register.
Open
Speaking earlier and defending Ireland’s policy of taking in refugees from Ukraine, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman this morning said that “Ireland’s response to the crisis in Ukraine is part of an EU response, and that EU response is a generous response, it’s an open response”.
“It recognises the magnitude of humanitarian crisis we’re seeing on the borders with the European Union and it’s responding accordingly,” the Minister told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
“So Ireland will set a policy in line with the EU policy, that is a policy that … provides easy access for Ukrainians to our country and the range of supports we’ve discussed. That’s the right approach,” he said.
O’Gorman said he’s not aware of whether the British government has raised direct concerns with Ireland on the matter, but added that Justice Minister Helen McEntee is in regular contact with the British Home Secretary Priti Patel and all EU Justice Ministers.
Addressing the report in The Telegraph of concerns from the British government regarding Ireland’s policy, O’Gorman said: “I’m very reluctant to comment on some anonymous source but … everyone who looks at the pictures coming from Ukraine right now understands that we need an immediate and generous humanitarian response. That’s what Ireland is doing and that’s the right thing to do.”
Irish MEP Frances Fitzgerald said today that the EU’s decision on welcoming in Ukrainian refugees “is an open door decision, effectively”.
“Ukrainians can come in with their families, with their parents, their children, their pets. It’s very much saying that you’re part of Europe, we’re opening the door for you because of Putin’s aggression,” Fitzgerald told The Journal in Strasbourg this afternoon.
“It’s very much because we’re part of the EU that we have that policy, we’re following through on it,” she said.
“Is it going to be challenging? Yes. I don’t think we know the scale of the challenge yet.”
Ireland's European Affairs Minister, Thomas Byrne, tells Sky News that about 2,000 Ukrainians have travelled to Ireland, and he expects "many more" to follow.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 8, 2022
Latest: https://t.co/X3flQUBL0r
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/LoZJLuCfKK
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne was asked about the UK’s current policy of requiring Ukrainians to apply for visas to seek refuge from the situation.
“I’m not going to get into a battle between nations. I think everybody is playing the part. From what I can see, the British are helping out on the military front, it’s not something that Ireland is doing,” Byrne said.
“So, there are things that we can do that others maybe can’t do for whatever reason, that’s a matter for the British government,” he said.
“The Irish government is in constant contact with the British government and will continue to be so throughout this particular crisis. But I’m not going to get into a battle or competition on who’s the most virtuous in a war,” the Minister of State said.
“This is a crisis situation of really unprecedented proportions in all of our lifetimes and the Irish government is dealing with it in this particular way, in the context of membership of the European Union.”
The Common Travel Area, which has been in place since 1922, is a reciprocal arrangement between Ireland and the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands that allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely between the UK and Ireland and reside in either jurisdiction.
- With reporting by Hayley Halpin, Lauren Boland and Press Association
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