Over 2000 Ukrainian refugees living in Louth

The total number of Ukrainian refugees living in Louth under the Temporary Protection Directive now stands at 2236 according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.

Nationally, 96,338 Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) were given to arrivals from Ukraine by October 8, 2023.

Broken down by area; the figures reveal the Drogheda Urban area has 822 Ukrainians living locally while Dundalk-Carlingford has 573; Dundalk South has 459; Ardee has 235 while Drogheda Rural has 147.

The figures also reveal that there are currently 249 Ukrainian children enrolled in primary schools in Louth while there are 197 enrolled in secondary schools in the county. 

Commenting on the release, Laura Carter, Statistician, said: 

"There are two maps in this release based on mapping 91,576 individuals, or 95% of arrivals, to a location within Ireland. These maps are based on the local post office address as per the process 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. 

“The first map is a count of arrivals by Local Electoral Area (LEA), and the second is the rate of arrivals by LEA (per 100 of the Census 2022 de facto population). Kenmare in Co. Kerry had the highest number of associated arrivals from Ukraine at 2,590.

“Our analysis also shows that the rate per 100 of the population ranges across all LEAs in the country from 0.20% to 11.11%. The LEA with the highest rate was Ennistimon in Co. Clare."

Nationally, of these arrivals, people aged 20 and over make up 68% of the total, with 32% under the age of 20.

Twelve thousand one hundred and eight arrivals are currently enrolled in further education and training courses, with 9,425 people enrolled in English language courses. 

As of October 8 2023, 17,466 arrivals were living in private accommodation, where 7,852 hosts were in receipt of Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP). 

Thirteen thousand Nine hundred and forty seven arrivals from Ukraine were living in local authorities/IRC/DCEDIY pledged accommodation as of October 12 2023, of which 5,044 were living in accommodation under the 'Offer a Home' scheme. 

Over 36,000 arrivals have attended an employment support event arranged by Intreo Public Employment Services. 

Sixty one percent (or 22,351 people) noted that English language proficiency was a challenge in securing employment. 

Seventeen thousand five hundred and four people had recorded previous occupations, with 'professionals' being the largest group at 31% (or 5,343 people). 

The counties with the largest number of arrivals from Ukraine include Dublin (13,543 people), Kerry (8,839 people), Cork (8,808 people), Donegal (7,006 people), Galway (5,355 people), and Clare (5,006 people). 

Monaghan, Longford, Roscommon, Offaly and Laois were noted as the counties with the fewest Ukrainian refugees nationwide, with 755, 853, 1212, 1251, and 1385 people living there respectively.