CABINET HAS APPROVED the allocation of €10.5 million towards supporting people who come to Ireland from Ukraine, including half a million to volunteer centres.

The funding is set to be directed to social and community programmes that are working to improve quality of life for refugees from Ukraine.

Government ministers have confirmed that Cabinet green-lit the financing at its weekly meeting yesterday, where it also approved a two-year lease of the Citywest Hotel to accommodate people fleeing the war.

€5 million will be given to Community Foundation Ireland, which is administering the Ireland for Ukraine Fund set up by media outlets, including The Journal, and another €5 million to the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) for distributing to local development companies.

€500,000 will be used to support volunteer centres facing a significant rise in demand for services.

In a statement, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that “since the start of this terrible war, our communities have played a central role in helping people arriving from Ukraine settle in to their new life in Ireland”.

“I am confident that this additional funding will help ensure the integration of the people arriving from Ukraine, as well as assisting both rural and urban communities in continuing their work,” Humphreys said.

Minister of State for Community Development Joe O’Brien added: “Over the past few months, I have seen first-hand the welcome and support being provided across the country to the people arriving from Ukraine.”

“This funding will make a significant difference to these efforts to deliver vital supports and services and continue to assist in the integration of the Ukrainian people into our communities,” he said.

According to the Central Statistics Office, at least 33,151 people have travelled from Ukraine to Ireland and have been given a PPS number as of 22 May.

48% of the people who have arrived are women aged 20 or over and children and teenagers up to the age of 19 account for another 38%. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 have not been allowed to leave the country.

The refugees are spread across the country, with the highest proportion in Dublin’s North Inner city (1,156) and Clare’s Ennistymon (1,118) local electorate areas.

There are 865 in Killarney, Co Kerry; 736 in Kenmare, Co Kerry; and 604 in Ennis, Co Clare as of 23 May.

Other areas populated with 500 or more refugees from Ukraine include Midleton, Tralee, Donegal, Tramore, Bray and Castlebar.