A 46-year-old Ukrainian woman will become the first in an estimated 10,000-strong Ukrainian community in Co Kerry to run in the local elections.
Ukrainians living on temporary protection in the State can vote in local elections and can also seek election.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage last September confirmed both the right to vote and to run under the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended).
There had been a rush by candidates of all parties to get Ukrainians to register in the various municipal districts. The large Ukrainian community of more than 3,000 in Killarney now have their own candidate.
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Natalya Krasnenkova is a former television reporter who had her own public relations company in Kyiv for many years before fleeing the war in March 2022. She has built a high profile among the Ukrainian and wider community in Kerry.
She is employed as a community development worker for North East West Kerry Development, where she helps Ukrainians every day in matters of integration, employment, learning English and organising leisure and cultural projects. She is also involved in mountaineering, writes a column for a local free paper and has participated in podcasts on immigration for Radio Kerry.
She arrived with her son and her daughter, both teenagers, over two years ago. Her daughter has since returned to Ukraine to go to university.
While she will target the 3,000-strong mostly adult Ukrainian community, Natalya wants to become a voice for all.
“I would like to become a voice for the new communities in Kerry County Council. In Ireland, about 12 per cent of the population has a migrant background, but only 1 per cent is represented in the Government. It would be good to change this tradition.
She notes that Kerry County Council has only five female representatives, which she says seems like a disproportionately low number when there are 28 male councillors.
“I will be happy to represent the women’s community as well,” she said.
An energetic activist, she has not stood still. Last year she finished a course at Kerry College, graduating in “community development and leadership”. She has also completed a course provided by the Migrant Leadership Academy of the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
“In my free time, I do light athletics at a local club, I regularly participate in the Killarney park run, and I also like to conquer mountain peaks,” she said.
There are growing tensions around immigration issues in Killarney, where about 36 per cent of hotel and guest house accommodation is used by refugees.
Kerry Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae last week spoke in the Dáil about Ukrainians driving “flashy SUVs and high-powered cars” and returning to their native country on holiday to houses “we were told were bombed and blown out of existence”.
His comments suggest that the migration issue might be raised on doorsteps in Kerry during this election campaign, particularly in light of the large number of refugees living in tourist accommodation in a county that relies heavily on the tourism industry.
Ms Krasnenkova said it was important to remember that Ukrainians were well off in their home country and most want to work in Ireland. She disputed Healy-Rae’s characterisation of her compatriots in Kerry.
“I did not see large Ukrainian cars. I have an Audi A1, the smallest car in Kerry. I do not have any benefits in Ireland at the moment, apart from the right to work and temporary protection. I pay my taxes,” she said.
She stressed that Ukrainians were “not economic refugees or refugees from poverty” and that about half of Ukrainians in Kerry have “higher education – they are business people, doctors, teachers, lawyers”.
“It is quite likely that they had a high standard of living in Ukraine, so they could buy cars. We don’t have official figures but thousands upon thousands of people have been killed, that’s what we have sought refuge from, not to look for handouts from Ireland,” she said.
Natalya says it is “an honour” to be able seek election. If elected, she will serve the community for five years “and do what is right for Kerry”.
She now sees her future in Killarney and wants to continue her humanitarian work in Kerry.
“When I arrived in Ireland in March 2022, I hoped that by summer the war would be over and I would be home. Time moved on into autumn, then Christmas,” she said.
“The last two years have taught me that the future is uncertain but I can no longer wait for the war to be over. I can try to fulfil what I see as my life’s mission here.”
She notes that, as the war continues in Ukraine, 18 per cent of its territory is occupied by Russia and rocket attacks happen throughout the country.
“There are more than six million Ukrainian refugees around the world, 10,000 of them in Kerry. Ukrainian cities are bombarded by shelling and ballistic attacks every day,” she says.
Her success in the election will depend on how well she can “mobilise” the Ukrainian community, she believes.
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