More than 84,000 Ukrainians remain in Ireland four years after Russia’s invasion

Fiona Corcoran of The Greater Chernobyl Cause with some of the 120 Ukrainian war refugees and their pets who were housed at the Green Glens Arena at Millstreet, Co Cork, last year before the announcement that they were to be relocated. File picture: Larry Cummins

More than 84,000 Ukrainian nationals remain in Ireland as the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of their country approaches.

New data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that as of February 3, some 121,048 personal public service numbers (PPSN) were issued to Ukrainians who registered with the Department of Social Protection to access social services and employment.

Of those 121,048 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP), some 69%, or 84,100, were still active in Ireland as of November 30 last year, the CSO said.

In Cork, the number of Ukrainians still showing activity to date sits at 4,146. In Cork City, some 1,966 are still shown as residents and active.

The number follows significant changes made by the Government in November last year, which reduced State-provided accommodation from 90 days to 30 and lowered the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) for hosts from €600 to €400.

The CSO added that some 29,060 of the total number of BOTPs still living in Ireland were earning income from employment at an average of €540 per week. The most common sectors of employment were in wholesale trade, transport, and accommodation.

Looking into Ukrainian children enrolled in schools under the 2025/2026 academic year, there were 17,370 BOTPs registered. Of those, 59% were in primary schools while the remaining 41% were in secondary schools.

There were 84,100 arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland by 03 February 2026 with recent activity in administrative datahttps://t.co/B4VYHzUHk2#CSOIreland #Ireland #Population #PopulationEstimates #Migration #MigrationEstimates pic.twitter.com/HmAEvCVWDo

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 18, 2026

Donegal had the highest number of children enrolled in primary schools at 968, while Dublin had the highest number of children in secondary schools at 806. Cork sat at 895 for primary school enrolments and 643 for secondary school enrolments.

Meanwhile, 12,307 Ukrainians were enrolled in further education and training courses at the start of February. Of those, 8,098 were enrolled in further education English language courses.

Additionally, some 43,949 arrivals were living in private accommodation, where 18,685 hosts were receiving ARP.