MORE THAN 54,000 Ukrainians have sought refuge in Ireland since the onset of war in their country, data shows.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office found a total of 54,771 people from Ukraine arrived in Ireland up to September 25.

More than 1,000 people arrived in the previous week.

All Ukrainians have been issued with personal public service numbers (PPSNs) under the Temporary Protection Directive.

Women aged 20 and over account for 46% of arrivals to date, while children and teenagers aged 0-19 years, both male and female, account for 35%.

The highest percentage of those arriving, a total of 19,121 individuals (more than a third of all arrivals), were categorised as “one parent with children” under the broad relationship classification headings used.

As of 25 September, 67% of the arrivals that attended employment support events arranged by Intreo Public Employment Services, English language proficiency was noted as being a challenge in securing employment.

Of the 19,589 arrivals who attended an Intreo event, 14,209 had recorded previous occupations, with professionals being the largest group at 32%.

Of the 13,878 persons where the highest level of education was recorded, 67% had achieved an NFQ level equivalent to 7 or higher.

CSO statistician Karola Graupner said the latest data provides insights into Ireland’s response to the Ukrainian crisis.

“We show two maps in this release based on mapping 51,788 individuals, or 95% of arrivals, to a location within Ireland,” she said.

“The first map is a count of arrivals by Local Electoral Area, and the second is the rate of arrivals by LEA (per 100 of the preliminary Census 2022 de facto population).

“Both North Inner City in Dublin and Killarney in Co Kerry had the highest number of associated arrivals from Ukraine at 1,558.

“Our analysis also shows that the rate per 100 of the population ranges across all LEAs in the country from 0.07% to 7.87%.

“The LEA with the highest rate is Ennistimon in Co Clare.”

The map is based on the local post office addresses through which arrivals were seeking assistance from the Department of Social Protection or, if available, the arrivals’ residential address where an accommodation recognition payment is payable to the host of the residence.

Ukrainian pupils

Meanwhile, the number of Ukrainian pupils enrolled in Irish schools has climbed to 11,809.

The Department of Education confirmed today that of the 11,809 Ukrainian pupils, 7,420 have been accommodated in primary schools, while 4,389 pupils are enrolled in post-primary schools.

A previous update from the department showed that there were 7,285 Ukrainian pupils enrolled in Irish schools as of 30 June. 

Dublin has the highest number of Ukrainian pupils, with 1,184 pupils enrolled in primary school and 689 in post-primary, followed by Cork with 755 in primary and 432 in post-primary, and Kerry with 716 pupils in primary and 442 pupils in post-primary. 

Monaghan has the lowest number of Ukrainian pupils, with 27 pupils in primary school and 18 in post-primary.

Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) are continuing to operate to help Ukrainian refugees and their families transition into Irish schools.

The teams are hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland and staffed by regionally based education support personnel.

Information for parents in Ukrainian and Russian on accessing school places is available on the Government’s website.