Ireland

More than half of Ukrainians in Ireland plan to stay on permanent basis, survey finds

Number of arrivals living in accommodation paid for by State decreases from 55% to 44%

From 2023 to 2024, the number of Ukrainians who have jobs here and are currently working increased from 29.5% to 43%. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times

Jade Wilson
Tue Mar 5 2024 - 21:56

The number of Ukrainians who plan to stay in Ireland on a permanent basis has increased from 41 per cent to 53 per cent, according to a new survey of thousands of people who arrived here since the beginning of Russia’s war.

Over 100,000 Ukrainians have come to Ireland under the temporary protection directive since March 2022.

A new survey of some 8,329 Ukrainians (4,678 adults and 3,651 children) was conducted by the activist group Ukrainian Action Ireland. The survey is the third of its kind and the results demonstrate changes in the level of employment, education, English language proficiency and more, since Ukrainians first began arriving into the State.

Compared to 2023, the share of those living in hotels or hostels paid for by the State decreased from 55 per cent to 44 per cent.

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In 2023, 8 per cent rented housing at market price, and this has now increased to 11 per cent.

Since 2023, the number of those who plan to stay in Ireland on a permanent basis has increased from 41 per cent to 53 per cent. The share of those planning to return home decreased from 25.5 per cent to 19 per cent.

Another 1 per cent planned to move to another country, and 27 per cent could not answer the question.

From 2023 to 2024, the number of those who have jobs and are currently working in Ireland increased from 29.5 per cent to 43 per cent. However, most did not work in their specialist field.

Among the remaining respondents, 35 per cent are currently looking for work, 19 per cent don’t have jobs and aren’t looking for one, and 3 per cent said they were retired.

Some 74 per cent of respondents have a higher education, with 57 per cent having a degree at the level of master, specialist or doctorate.

Among respondents with vocational and higher education, 24 per cent claimed that their profession did not require re-qualification to work in Ireland.

However, 40 per cent needed re-qualification, and 6 per cent claimed that their profession is not recognised at all.

Among those who needed re-certification, 2 per cent have already completed the process, and 13 per cent are currently going through the process.

About half (48 per cent) hadn’t started this process. 35 per cent answered that they struggle to navigate through the confirmation process.

Some 93 per cent of respondents had jobs before they left Ukraine, mainly as employees in large cities. On average, respondents had 12 years of experience in their recent area of work.

Significant differences remain in the level of employment depending on the language proficiency: the level of employment increased from only 22 per cent among those with basic English knowledge to 73 per cent among those who are fluent, the survey results showed.

Compared to 2023, the number of those who speak English at a level “above average” increased from 35 per cent to 41 per cent. The share of those who have intermediate English fluency is now 22 per cent, an increase of 2 per cent since 2023.

Some 18 per cent said they had a pre-intermediate English level, and 18.5 per cent had a “basic” level. Younger and more educated respondents had a higher English proficiency, the survey showed.

Responses were provided from all counties in Ireland, ranging from Dublin (902 responses) to Longford (38 responses).

The main reasons for coming to Ireland rather than other European countries were English as the main language of communication, provision of accommodation by the State, distance from Russia, and relatives or friends living in Ireland, the survey respondents said.

Jade Wilson

Jade Wilson

Jade Wilson is a reporter for The Irish Times

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