Ukrainian population in Offaly up nearly 30% on last year
Over 2,000 moved to county since Russian invasion in February 2022
THE numbers of Ukrainians living in Offaly has increased by 29.9% in the last 12 months, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The latest statistics on people who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February 2022 indicate that 2,094 are now in Offaly.
The figure is based on the number of Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) given to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BoTP) from Ukraine.
In February 2024 the figure for Offaly was 1,612. A year before that, February 2023, the number of Ukrainians in the county was only 671.
The first time the CSO released data, May 22, 2022, the figure for Offaly was 333. The vast majority, 256, were resident in the Tullamore Electoral Area at the time, with 42 in the Edenderry Electoral Area and 35 in the Birr Electoral Area.
Of the 2,094 Ukrainians now in Offaly, 1,107 are in Tullamore, 737 in Birr and 250 in Edenderry.
The last time the CSO published figures was September 29, 2024 when there were 1,905 Ukrainians in Offaly.
At that time there were 1,022 in Tullamore, 667 in Birr and 216 in Edenderry.
The CSO has also released information on school attendance. According to the latest figures there are 302 Ukrainians enrolled in primary schools in Offaly and 138 enrolled in secondary schools in the county.
The CSO cautions that while PPSN allocations give the total number of arrivals from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive, it is not necessarily indicative of how many persons are currently residing in Ireland as some arrivals may have subsequently left.
The Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55 EC) was activated on March 4, 2022 by the European Union to provide immediate protection in EU countries for people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
There were 112,189 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection from Ukraine in Ireland by February 2 this year.
Women and men aged 20 years and over made up 46% and 25% respectively of arrivals to date, while 29% were people aged under 20 years.
Of all arrivals to date aged 18 years and over, 61% of males and 48% of females were married or cohabiting.
In January 2025, 23,803 arrivals had earnings from employment, where their mean weekly earnings were €501. The most common sector of employment, as categorised by the CSO, was in Wholesale, Transport & Accommodation at 43%.
As of February 2, 48,568 arrivals had attended an employment support event arranged by the Intreo Public Employment Services.
Of those, 55% (26,554 people) noted that English language proficiency was a challenge in securing employment.