Flow of Ukrainian refugees into Laois and Offaly has almost stopped

Fears that Laois and Offaly are being overwhelmed due to the war in Ukraine are not borne out by the latest official figures which show the flow of refugees into the two counties almost stopping.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has been tracking the arrival of Ukrainian refugees to Ireland since May. It has published three sets of figures the latest of which were released on June 24.

While concerns were raised in the Dáil about the impact on the housing situation, the figures show that the pressure is easing somewhat.

The first set of figures showed that 487 people were registered in Laois by May 27. There were 333 in Offaly by the same date. 

The second set of data published on June showed a rise to a total of 511 in Laois by June 10. Offaly was accommodating a total of 350 mainly women and children by the same date.

The CSO's third analysis covers the period since the war began up to June 24. This showed no change for Laois with 511 people who have fled the Russians finding a refuge in the county. The number living in Offaly had risen slightly to 353 by late June.

The June 24 figures show that Ukrainian arrivals in Laois represent nearly 2% of the population while just 1.3% of the number of people living in Offaly have fled the Russians.

The CSO also provides details on school enrolments. A total of 78 Ukrainian children are going to primary school in Laois while 37 children attend secondary school in the county. In Offaly, 44 children are in primary education with just 15 in secondary schools.

The figures show that the majority of the refugees are living in the big towns in both counties. This is particularly evident in Offaly where 270 live in the Tullamore Municipal District. There is a more even spread in Laois. Nevertheless, 273 live in the Portlaoise Municipal District.

Nationally, the CSO reported that there were 38,700 arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland by the week ending 19 June 2022, an increase of just under 3,000 in two weeks.

Women aged 20 and over account for 47% of arrivals to date, while individuals aged 0-19 (both male and female) account for 37%.  The highest percentage of those arriving (41% or 15,850 individuals) were categorised as 'One parent with children' under the broad relationship classification headings used. 

The CSO notes that spouses/partners may have stayed in Ukraine.

As of 07 June 2022, of the 6,890 children who arrived from Ukraine and enrolled in school, 71% were in primary education while 29% were in secondary education.

Based on administrative data currently available to the CSO, of the arrivals from Ukraine aged 18 and older, 89% showed activity in administrative data after the 15 May 2022.

Commenting on the release, Karola Graupner, Statistician, said: “This Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland release is the third in a series of releases by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) providing insights into Ireland’s response to the Ukrainian crisis. This release includes an analysis of Ukrainian arrivals who are availing of support and services from the Department of Social Protection, as well as providing insights into primary and secondary school enrolments overseen by the Department of Education. Also included is an experimental measure of arrivals from Ukraine that where still administratively active after the 15th May, incorporating PAYE Modernisation (PMOD) data.

"Based on the local post office address as per the process through which refugees were seeking assistance from the Department of Social Protection, we also show two maps in this release based on mapping 35,370 individuals, or 91% of arrivals, to a local post office: 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 2016 population). Using the local post office address as a proxy for place of residence, arrivals from Ukraine are present in all LEAs and North Inner City in Dublin had the highest number of associated arrivals from Ukraine at 1,245.

"Our analysis also shows that the rate per 100 of the population ranges across all LEAs in the country from 0.01% to 7.28%. The LEA with the highest rate is Ennistimon in Clare," said the  Statistician.

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The European Temporary Protection Directive was activated on the 04 March 2022 by EU Council Decision to provide immediate protection in EU countries for people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on the 24 February 2022.