Almost 12,000 Ukrainian children have been enrolled in schools in the State, an increase of more than 60 per cent since the summer break.
Figures from the Department of Education show that, as of September 30th, there were 7,420 children newly arrived from Ukraine in primary schools and 4,389 at second level. The total of 11,809 is up from the 7,285 enrolled when schools were breaking for the summer at the end of June — a 62 per cent increase.
Capacity is not an issue at the moment, with the department saying earlier this year there were an estimated 25,000 spare places at primary and 20,000 at second level.
A department spokesman said in order to assist with the transition of the children and young people and their families into the Irish school system, regional education and language teams (Realt) were operating across the State.
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“These teams are ensuring that clear, accessible information flows are in place between schools, local education support services and national support structures in relation to people arriving from Ukraine,” he said.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of Ukrainians who had fled to Ireland following the Russian invasion in late February had reached 54,771 by the end of last month.
More than 1,000 people arrived from Ukraine during the week to September 25th, a 2 per cent increase on the previous week and an 8 per cent increase over the previous four weeks.
In the sixth update on Ukrainian arrivals to Ireland, the CSO said 54,771 personal public service numbers (PPSNs) had been issued to individuals from Ukraine who have arrived under the EU’s temporary protective directive since February 24th.
Women and children make up the vast majority of the new arrivals. Women aged 20 and over account for 46 per cent of arrivals to date, while children and young adults aged up to 19 accounted for 35 per cent.
The biggest group of Ukrainians are single parents travelling with children (35 per cent of overall arrivals or 19,121). Most male partners were prohibited from leaving Ukraine as men of military age were required to stay and defend the country against Russian forces.
Two thirds of the arrivals have attended employment support events arranged by Intreo, the State’s public employment service. English language proficiency is reported to be 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 per cent.
Of the 13,878 people where the highest level of education was recorded, 67 per cent had a bachelor third-level degree or higher.
Dublin’s north inner city and Killarney in Co Kerry had the highest number of arrivals from Ukraine at 1,558 people. The proportion of the population where Ukrainians are resident ranges from 0.07 per cent of a local electoral area up to 7.87 per cent. The local electoral area with the highest rate of Ukrainian arrivals is Ennistymon, Co Clare with 1,411 people.
Where people have arrived from Ukraine in more recent weeks, the new arrivals say they “just could not stay under Russian occupation any more, especially families,” said a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Crisis Centre in Ireland.
Many have come from occupied areas or regions still controlled by the Russians.
“We are seeing a lot of people coming from Odesa, Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia,” said the spokeswoman. “From discussions on public chat rooms online, we can see that people dream of going back.”
