The number of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine and arriving in Ireland is now approaching 75,000, according to latest data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The ninth release in its regular monitoring series, published on Friday, shows 74,458 Ukrainians had come to Ireland as of February 12th, measured by the number of Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) issued.
That represents a 10 per cent increase on the last update in December (67,448) and a 125 per cent increase on the first of the series published in May last year, three months after the Russian invasion began.
Numbers continue to grow as the Government comes under intensive pressure to secure accommodation for unprecedented levels of refugees under the Temporary Protection Directive and asylum seekers.
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Last year, it was expected the number of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in Ireland would eventually surpass the 100,000 mark. Earlier this month, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman, whose department is responsible for the programme, said an average of 124 Ukrainians were arriving daily.
According to the CSO, women and men aged 20 and over made up almost half of the total (46 per cent) while exactly one third were aged under 20.
There were 12,622 arrivals enrolled in further education and training courses by the beginning of February, of which 10,680 had enrolled in English language courses.
By the middle of the month, about 39 per cent (28,774) had attended an employment support event arranged by Intreo Public Employment Services. Of those, 70 per cent (20,016) said proficiency in the English language had made securing employment challenging.
At the employment events, 14,890 people had recorded previous occupations, with professionals being the largest group at 31 per cent.
The highest proportion of arrivals had settled in Ennistymon in Co Clare, measured in terms of the rate per 100 of population across local electoral areas.
