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EXACTLY ONE YEAR ago today, following weeks of speculation, the world woke up to the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin had launched an invasion of Ukraine.
As missiles were reported across several Ukrainian cities, world leaders were quick to condemn the invasion and the EU swiftly imposed sanctions on Russia.
Despite global powers urging Putin to step back from the war, it soon became clear that the Russian president had no intention of ending his “special military operation”.
The invasion forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes, sparking the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
Civilians immediately made their way west, heading to neighbouring countries such as Poland, Hungary and Moldova in their cars, with some even going on foot. It is estimated that over 100,000 people fled their homes in the first day of fighting.
A week after the invasion, the European Council triggered its temporary protection directive. The directive, created in 2001 in response to the conflicts in former Yugoslavia, is designed to offer quick and effective assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
It allows all Ukrainian nationals living in Ukraine who were displaced on or after 24 February 2022 to live, work and study across the EU.
The directive also stipulates for access to suitable accommodation or housing, as well as access to social welfare or means of subsistence if necessary.
As of 21 February, over eight million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Of those, 4.8 million have registered for temporary protection or similar national protection schemes across the continent.
UNHCR data shows that Poland has taken in over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, the most of any other country in the EU. Germany is second with 881,000 Ukrainian refugees accommodated there, followed by Czech Republic with over 486,000.
Italy has recorded over 169,000 Ukrainian refugees, while Spain has recorded over 161,000. This is followed closely by the UK, with over 158,000 refugees being recorded there, and France, who has recorded over 118,000.
Refugees have also settled outside of Europe. Speaking in December, US President Joe Biden said the US had welcomed over 221,000 refugees from Ukrainian since last March, while over 140,000 Ukrainian nationals entered Canada in 2022.
More than 70,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland since the war began, the majority of whom are being housed in temporary or emergency accommodation, including in hotels, sports halls, former religious buildings and tented accommodation.
However, the State has been struggling to source new accommodation in recent months, prompting Minister Roderic O’Gorman to issue an urgent appeal to find large buildings and facilities to house Ukrainians and those seeking international protection here.
Throughout the continent, many Ukrainians are housed in similar emergency accommodation as a first port of call before a more permanent residence can be found.
In Germany, over one million refugees have settled since the war began. But according to Deutsche Welle, the country is now facing a housing crisis, with a shortage of accommodation available to new arrivals.
Refugees arriving from Ukraine are processed at a reception centre in Tegel Airport. It has a bed capacity of 1,600 for refugees, but is being expanded in order to accommodate over 3,000 refugees.
Hotels and hostels are the main form of accommodation for Ukrainians arriving in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Ireland, according to a report by the European Migration Network (EMN).
The report found that in Slovakia, the share of accommodation provided by private individuals was around 55% while in Latvia, it amounted to 66%.
In Germany, observations suggest that the share of private accommodation ranged from about 10% to 80%, depending on the municipality.
According to EMN, almost all EU member states provide financial allowances to beneficiaries of temporary protection, either through their national welfare packages or allowances specifically dedicated to refugees.
While most nations across Europe have accommodated thousands of Ukrainian refugees, The Journal has spoken to experts in Poland, Czech Republic and Norway about how refugees have settled in their respective countries.
We focused on Poland and Czech Republic due to the high number of refugees there, as well as language similarities, while Norway was chosen because it has a similar population size to Ireland, it is not a member of the EU and it has less language and cultural similarities to Ukraine.
At 1.5 million, Poland has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other country in the EU.
Experts put this down to proximity, a similar language and the fact that many Ukrainians were already living in Poland before the invasion and could accommodate friends and family.
According to research carried out by the University of Warsaw’s Centre for Migration Research, over 50% of Ukrainian refugees in Poland are living with other Ukrainian people or being hosted by Polish people.
Speaking to The Journal, migration researcher at the centre Dominika Pszczółkowska said she was “surprised” by the figure.
“It is quite amazing. After a year, about half of the people who came and who are still here basically have free housing,” she said.
“This free housing might be with a family or it might be often in an apartment or room belonging to somebody else who doesn’t make them pay. This is, I think, pretty unheard of anywhere, so we were surprised by this results, but that’s what people said.”
The Polish government had been paying people hosting refugees 40 Zlotys (€8) per day, but this stopped in July.
Pszczółkowska said many other refugees have sourced their own accommodation and are now renting, with the majority of those who arrived now working.
“The rate of professional activity of the refugees who came is very high, it’s over 60%. Of course they’re not necessarily doing the same type of work as they did back in Ukraine, but they do have a job, so they can rent an apartment,” she said.
“Of course this is not so straightforward. It’s expensive to rent housing, especially in big cities in Poland, compared to what you earn, so it’s not like the moment you get a job you can have a nice, big apartment, but they do manage to rent out some housing.
It’s not easy for Ukrainian people in places like Warsaw to have affordable and stable housing. It’s not like we had many apartments standing empty before the war, the housing market was already pretty tight. It was probably not to the scale of Dublin if I can compare, but it was getting tighter and tighter.
She said that there is a minority of refugees staying in purpose-built refugee centres and in hotel accommodation, which the researchers also found surprising.
“Given the general level of wealth of Polish people, it’s not like everybody has a spare house, so I was expecting it to be more of a problem. But I think part of the problem was solved by this huge initial outpouring of goodwill and help when people took Ukrainian people in.”
Ukrainian refugees and their families in Poland have access to a single cash benefit of 300 Polish Zloty (€62), as well as access to social assistance on a general basis, provided they meet the income-based conditions.
From March, Ukrainian refugees living in accommodation centres for over 120 days will have to cover 50% of their costs, and 75% of their costs if they have lived there for over 180 days.
“In Poland, I think in contrast to Ireland, you can barely live on benefits. It’s not doable,” Pszczółkowska said.
“The one benefit that is significant and easy to get because it’s not means tested … is child benefit. The child benefit is 500 Zloty per month, which is about €100, and Ukrainian people like Polish people, get it for each child. So that I think helps the budget of many people.”
One area that is also difficult in the country is education. There are a shortage of teachers in Poland and classes have become more stretched with the additional children, Pszczółkowska said.
“Some schools managed to get support teachers who teach Polish to these kids, other schools did not. Some schools created special classes for Ukrainian kids with a lot of Polish teaching, but many did not and the kids just went into regular Polish classes, so the classes are larger than they were before,” she said.
“Some Ukrainian kids are going to Polish schools, and when they are, it’s usually just following the Polish curriculum. That has worked out pretty well for the majority. They learn Polish quickly because the languages are similar, so they’re making progress,” she said.
“For a minority, if you were in the last year of primary school, you would have had to take the end of primary exam just as anybody else to qualify for a good high school. So if you arrived in March, and the exam was in May or June, that wasn’t doable, so these kids were usually moved back a year.
“But actually, a minority of the kids that we know are here are in Polish schools, which means a lot of kids are still doing online Ukrainian school, which makes sense for them obviously, especially for older kids, because they continue in the same system.
They are hoping to go back, but whether they will be able to go back and how that will work, we’ll see.
She said that public opinion towards helping Ukrainian refugees is still extremely positive.
“90% of people would say we still need to help and they’re still welcome, and the numbers in terms of people supporting immigration in general have actually increased over the last year,” she said.
“I guess the social experience is mostly positive. People have met these newcomers, have seen that they’re fine people like us and actually see the benefits.”
Almost 490,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, since the war began. The country has a population of 10.7 million, and similarly to Poland, had a large Ukrainian population before the war began.
“A lot of Ukrainian refugees went to private accommodation, because even before the war there was a big Ukrainian population. These were mostly labour migrants,” Jakub Andrle, who works on migration awareness for the NGO People in Need in Czech Republic, told The Journal.
“There were about 200,000 of them, and a lot of young men went in the opposite direction to Ukraine to fight, so there were relatively a lot of places in apartments possible to accommodate a lot of people in these apartments.”
He said other people went through collective accommodation, which was provided by the State, but that capacity became full after a couple of weeks, meaning the accommodation provided became worse.
“It was near the borders where there are no hospitals, no schools, no work. These were very isolated places and the accommodation was very poor, leaking roofs and so on.”
After the initial influx, more people moved on to other European countries and the numbers in Czech Republic stabilised.
A survey conducted by the European Commission of 3,721 Ukrainian refugees living in the country found that around 20% said they live in commercial or municipal rentals, while almost 30% live in non-residential types of housing such as hostels and hotels.
The other 50% said they live in apartments provided by or shared with Czech or Ukrainian households.
Those accommodating Ukrainian refugees can receive 3,000 Czech Koruna, or around €125, per hosted person per month.
While refugees were not included in the country’s social welfare system, they received financial assistance from the government and were permitted to work immediately.
Andrle estimates that up to 100,000 refugees are working, though many are overqualified for the jobs they have.
“Some employers don’t want to employ people in higher positions because they don’t know if these people will leave in a couple of weeks or months, and also the refugees themselves mostly do want to go back to Ukraine so they don’t want better positions. The third reason is language. For some positions, knowledge of Czech is necessary and it’s simply impossible to work in these positions for them.”
He said that if government stopped the collective support of accommodation and financial benefits, 80% of the refugees would be in poverty.
“The financial benefits are not high, but very important for the people. I think it’s even lower than €200 a month but it’s just enough so that these people can buy really basic stuff, like food and clothing for their kids and so on,” he said.
Around 80% of refugees are women and children and a lot of these women simply cannot afford to work full-time because they have to take care of the children. They really don’t have any money to save, only just to survive with basic necessities.
He said that following the initial “wave of support” to help Ukrainians, public opinion remains positive but has become weaker over time.
“For example, it was visible on the street. You could see Ukrainian flags pretty much everywhere, on all the main buildings in towns and cities, but now it’s more and more rare and people are a little bit tired, I think,” he said.
“It’s also because of the economic problems. The prices of energy went up by tens of percent during the autumn and the winter, so everyone knew that winter was going to be very difficult. The support went much lower than elsewhere in Central Europe.”
Despite this, Andrle stressed that there are no “open hostilities” towards Ukrainians.
“Even during the elections, regional elections and now the presidential elections, the issue of help to Ukrainians was not that controversial. It wasn’t the issue that would mobilise. So there is no large-scale hostility against Ukrainians, only the enthusiasm is gone.”
Closer to Ireland’s population of 5.1 million, Norway – which is not a member of the EU – has granted asylum to over 39,000 Ukrainian refugees. The country has a population of 5.5 million.
Of those, around 60% have sourced their own accommodation, according to the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research.
Vilde Hernes, a migration researcher at the Oslo Metropolitan University told The Journal that usually in Norway, all asylum seekers remain in temporary accommodation centres “with very few exceptions” until their application is approved, where they are then scheduled to stay in a certain municipality by the government.
This law was changed temporarily for Ukrainian refugees following the outbreak of the war.
“They changed the law temporarily so that Ukrainian families could, to a much larger degree, live with family and friends or find their own accommodation, so there’s a lot more flexibility and more freedom to live outside of the normal reception system, for example,” Hernes said.
“It was very much used, but it also created a lot of complications because normally, everybody’s in the system living in the reception centres where the government can provide information, but now they were all dispersed all over Norway, there wasn’t a unified solution to reach all of them.
“Information challenges in our report was the main challenge throughout, how to reach these people when they’re not in the normal system, more or less.”
She said that of the initial influx of Ukrainians to Norway, research found that two-thirds had either family, friends or a professional network in the country, while one-third didn’t have any network at all.
“Of course, we assume that the people coming now are very different than the ones who had a network in Norway who came in the beginning. Now, it might be more coincidental or that they don’t have a network and have different needs in that regard.”
Hernes said that some municipalities are now finding themselves with less accommodation to offer Ukrainian refugees, which she said is a “real concern” for next year, when it is estimated that a further 40,000 refugees will arrive.
“Until now, I think it’s kind of worked and everybody made an effort and they managed with creative solutions and everything,” she said.
Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman recently appealed for his ministerial colleagues to survey what buildings might be in the remit of departments and state bodies that could be used.
Yesterday, the Cabinet Committee on Ukraine discussed accommodation options for refugees arriving here, with the Taoiseach acknowledging that the government has not been able to provide accommodation for all refugees and asylum seekers.
In terms of accommodation, Varadkar said it “is anything we can get when it comes to accommodating people who were here refugees from Ukraine or people seeking international protection”.
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Insult him all you will,but he’s a fine example of a businessman who doesn’t use political sway to amass his fortune unlike other people ,he isn’t a tax exile . Previous to ryanair it wasn’t possible to go on short breaks to exciting cities due to cost , the man is a legend and should be treated as such.
Say what you like about ryanair,but we,re after booking flights to manchester for 2 adults and two kids with ryanair for €160,same flights we,re coming in at over €500,and thus out of our budget,at union infested dinosaur aer lingus!
belive hes doing a new calendar next year of him kissing puppies. .
Whoa! Slow down, this is all too much too fast!!..
What will they have next, a toilet attendant?
A blackinthejax at 40,000 feet :)
They still won’t let you check in online more than 7 days in advance unless you pay extra for an allocated seat though – they’ll always find some new way of trying to wring more money out of people….
I don’t mind flying with Ryanair because they are so cheap and it’s your own fault if you end paying more than you should but one thing I hate about flying with any airline is young kids and babies with modern patents believing that there kids should be allowed express themselves with no consideration to other passengers so I hope this move by Ryanair won’t turn there planes into crèches and if does I hope they make the back or front of the plane family sections so the rest of us can have some peace..
Poor you! Just remember, of you are this annoying at this stage of your life, think about how annoying you probably were when you were a baby! You’re not the most important person in the world therefore don’t bitch about people taking kids on holidays. They also deserve down time.
My problems not really with kids it’s with rubbish parents who think the kids can do what they want.. Not all parents but a lot of them..
Irishoversea-Because you were never a baby or even cried! Get over yourself you clown!
I’m guessing your one of the parents I’m on about who can’t control your kids..
I am a frequent flyer and I have no idea what you are talking about. Irish kids are probably the best behaved in the world and so are their parents. In case a baby screams the parents usually apologise to the people around even I think there is no need for it. What are they supposed to do: smother the infant?
Maybe Ryanair will offer a crèche facility in the hold of the plane, this will resolve all of our problems.
Yes Irish kids are best in the world it’s foreign kids I have problem with.. Coming to our country taking our plane seats making a load of noise..
Also babies crying I can get over it’s the kids who can be controlled or should be but are not. I don’t see why planes can’t have family sections that’s all..
There was a 2 year old behind me on the flight home today. She was talking singing shouting she had everyone in stitches. They re kids that’s what kids do.
Irishoverseas, foreign kids and their parents get up your nose? Why? I thought you are overseas? Shouldn’t you be used to it then?
Because as you pointed out yourself Irish kids are the best in the world and foreign kids compared to our angels are awful..
That would probably be preferable to be honest!
Don’t cry
I have been a regular customer of Ryanair for +10 years. Because of Ryanair I was able to afford almost monthly trips to visit my elderly parents. It’s down to them that I can be a peace with their loss knowing that I did all that I could and spent all the time I could with them while they were alive and needed me. I have heard the criticisms over the years but can honestly say I have never had a problem either with the airline or the staff. If you make youself aware of the rules and stick to them, all will be fine. In fact I regret the recent changes which have resulted in higher fares (everything has a price).
I have also flown Aer Lingus and can attest to the fact that they are as much a “budget – no frills airline” as Ryanair but this is rarely reflected in the fare.
If only Ryanair flew into Heathrow.
Be happy they don’t. It’s a hellhole. If you want world hub connections then go via Schipol – and avoid UK APD at the same time.
Sure bar you pay for Heathrow Express you’ll be in central London as quick from any airport.
In fairness, Gatwick is only a 45 minute train from St. Pancras International. Heathrow isn’t much closer!
Gatwick isn’t bad actually.
I wonder will they let me use the same microwave to heat the hot food they give me on board?
I agree with the commentors above regarding the low fuel issue. I watched the Channel 4 Despatches episode and was so disgusted with the sensational, biased reporting that I complained to Channel 4. Ryanair has an unmatched safety record. All airlines have emergency landing due to poor weather or other unforeseen circumstances. I find Michael O’Leary’s manner unnecessarily abrasive at times BUT I can’t fault his business acumen or his company
That still doesn’t do anything about the screaming baby problem..
have you tried a soother.
I think irishoversea might need one..
I think you needed condoms
Charm offensive…will it work?…time will tell…at least he’s trying not to insult us…:-)..
I hope they put all the kids together e.g a family/kid zone
Hope he does not decide to reduce the amount of fuel onboard to compensate, three emergency landings was enough.
Experience all three did you? You poor thing!
Out of however many landings they have ever performed, only 3 have made an emergency landing because of fuel. That has to be the best safety record in Europe! Look at EI or BA and see how many emergency landings they made because of low fuel in a holding pattern!
Flew with Ryanair to Murcia a number of years ago, when infants were still free. Asked for the connecting belt to attach my son to my belt. Was being stalled a bit, only to be informed that there wasn’t one on the flight, even though they knew that we were coming. Their blatant disregard for my sons safety means we will never fly with them as a family again. And now they’re child friendly? I’ll believe it when I see it.
but you wont see it if your not intending to fly with them again . ;-)
@Barry. My monacle just fell into my earl grey upon reading your comment, I am truly horrified.
I certainly don’t think it is very appropriate to fly with an airline that is so frivolous with fuel. I certainly think this issue has affected ryanair and is the reason for all these radical changes.
Rachel
Rachel,
do you honestly think that the IAA and other aviation regulators would let them fly with a dangerous low level of fuel?
I take it you work for Aer Lingus or one of their competitors.
Now, Now Brian, no need to be abrupt. I don’t work for an airline Brian. I would not consider emergency landings due to lack of fuel to be very safe and this has certainly been the case with ryanair.
Rachel
Rachel, silly silly Rachel, guess who diverted to Shannon a couple of weeks ago due to low on fuel and a hold at Dublin, your beloved Aer Lingus, it happens to all airlines, they dont have an endless supply of fuel, I guess if you actually read and understood the report you would see that the Ryanair planes had plenty of fuel on board and that numerous different airlines all had fuel emergencies at the same time due to weather and Spanish ATC. But dont let the facts get in the way of your ignorance
@ Rachel. That’s crap. If you knew your facts you would know what happened was due to reasons beyond crew control. FR have a fantastic safety record and do not take any risks with fuel or safety, plus aviation authorities would take a dim view if they did.
No need to be patronising Aaron.
Don’t fly with them then. Sure you love wasting all your loverly dosh on AL
Rachel, please investigate the facts which are available online (google) before posting nonsense please.
Then maybe people wont be so patronising towards you.
You know that was all down to desperate weather at the time, there is only so many times you can circle around avoiding thunderstorms before you run out of fuel! That same day a flight from Chile made an emergency landing due to an engine failure (thanks to a, yeah you guessed it, lack of fuel!). That delayed the aircraft holding above Madrid even more. Ryanair done everything right that day in taking on the legal amount of extra fuel incase of delays, the weather, poor Spanish ATC & the LAN AIrlines emergency were hardly Ryanairs fault!
Can’t Fault Ryanair, Recent trip to Almeria, was flawless, comfortable, staff very pleasant, no complaints whatsoever.
One suggestion, as a promotional exercise, Ryanair should record remarks from regular Ryanair users to get the truth behind this airline, I bet all the begrudgers will be Surprised!
Guess we’ll have to find something else to get riled up about now that Ryanair are off the list. Don’t think it will be too hard…..
Wizz air.
I assume they’ll heat the bottle for free, but if there’s anything in the bottle, there will be a substatial handling charge per ml etc?
i read they will also allow cots to be stored in overhead bins thats means there will be less storage for the person who just brings on their case….so the passenger will have to put case in the hold so more money and baby changing facility read toilet or the tray that drops down for ur cuppa
where did you hear that ?
They allow for 90 pieces of carry on luggage, and any overflow is checked at the gate free of charge. So your point is invalid
Indeed Stephen Furlong… How interesting of you to declare there’s a subset of consumers who avoid Ryanair ‘for no reason’
“Anyone who thinks Ryanair flights are some sort of bastion of sanctity where you can contemplate your navel is wrong. We already bombard you with as many in-flight announcements and trolleys as we can. Anyone who looks like they’re sleeping, we wake them up to sell them things.” Micheal O’Leary
I can see myself running right out to hand money over to what must truly be an incompetent stockbroker encouraging investment in an airline industry and market he knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about.
So children who used to fly free will now fly at a reduced adults’ fee. Heat bottles but at what cost ? I have never had reason to think of Ryanair in a good light. This window dressing makes me even more suspect.
How about reducing the charge for needing to get your boarding pass printed at their desk ?
I used to fly Ryanair but got fed up of the many many extra charges and also of their ill chosen airports at which they land.
As for kids on board. Children free flights would be great. I love kids but a screaming child in an enclosed space is not my idea of enjoying a flight. Some kids scream so let them all have their own flights with their parents.
I bet the insulted current child brigade will take umbrage at that.
Someone has no idea of how to play the ‘Ryanair game’
Well done Michael O Leary!
Another free publicity stunt!
You are a genius!
Stop it now…it isn’t funny any more….Ryan-air …nice and cuddly …….I must have fallen through the magic mirror.
Ryanair have a new problem. People not seating in the right seats. Two of my last three flights, someone has been sitting in my seat.
I don’t make an issue of it, go to the middle of the plane tell the flight attendant and ask to seat at the emergency exit if it’s free, more leg room.
But seriously is it that people don’t know and being stupid that it allocated seating now. I
Took like 3.35 Ryanair flight from Manchester to Dublin today. Been doing so for the last year and number of times a year and today was the first time it was packed. Normally it’s under half empty. Yes lots of holidays. But a huge swing from nearly empty to packed full.
Pity the fees for allocated seating were not discounted before now, we paid €140 for our flights both ways just to make sure out young children were seated beside us, ridiculous.
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