Election 2024: Immigration — 'Irish people are not about hate. They’re about supporting each other'

My message to the next Dáil: Liudmyla Bortok knows a Ukrainian psychiatrist working in Centra, an economics professor working in a carwash, and says their skills could be better used for the benefit of society

Liudmyla Bortok:'I hope the elections will be based on solid decisions and real solutions and less on populism.' Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Former journalist and TV executive Liudmyla Bortok cannot vote in the general election but she has unswerving faith in the Irish people to do so wisely.

“I have a huge belief in Irish people,” Ms Bortok, who moved to Ireland from Kyiv to escape the war in Ukraine, said.

“You struggled to get to where you are as a country. With this you gained wisdom, critical thinking, you double check. 

“I hope the elections will be based on solid decisions and real solutions and less on populism.

“I hope that accountability, transparency and democracy, human rights will be at the core of people coming into power after the election.

“Because Ireland deserves the best people to lead the nation.” 

Ms Bortok is “staying cautious” around how the immigration issue is framed in the elections.

“Especially if you go on TikTok or Insta you see a lot of hate.

“But I believe Ireland is a very smart nation, you don’t just see in black and white, you see other colours. You were there yourself once.” 

But populism is now a threat in Ireland as it is elsewhere internationally, she said.

“Unfortunately that formula works everywhere — from Russia to the US — twisting people’s minds, planting fear, simplifying messages to very basic ones, manipulation.

Unfortunately, the right wing and populists usually don’t refer to the input immigrants make to an economy. Instilling a fear in someone and then being able to manipulate them is much easier.

Finding employment is one of the biggest difficulties for refugees, she said.

She believes when recruiters see a Slavic name they are quicker to pass over the application.

Luidmyla Bortok: 'I don’t know why housing is taking so long to fix. You have all the potential to fix it — you have a lot of land, a lot of Ukrainians now able to work on construction sites, a young population.' Picture: Chani Anderson

“Ukrainians are getting work as service providers — in cleaning, kitchens, gas stations, very basic jobs.

“But the majority of Ukrainians here are very educated so having them working in kitchens will patch up vacancies but Ireland can also benefit from their skills – those that have English.” 

All Ukrainians Ms Bortok has met in Ireland want to work, she said.

“When I worked with the Department of Social Protection here, I had ladies in their 60s coming in begging for help finding a job — any job — they said they could clean, babysit, walk dogs, garden, anything.

And an economics professor in a very prestigious Ukrainian university came in. He was so proud because he got a job in a car wash four days after arriving in Ireland.

A Ukrainian psychiatrist she knows is working in Centra, unable to get work in healthcare despite there being serious problems recruiting enough psychiatrists.

Housing is a common problem for all people in Ireland — not just immigrants — and it has been there before the surge of refugees, she said.

“I don’t know why housing is taking so long to fix. You have all the potential to fix it — you have a lot of land, a lot of Ukrainians now able to work on construction sites, a young population.” 

Medical care is another issue facing both refugees and non-refugees alike. But the health service is benefitting from immigration too, she said. “You have nurses migrating to Australia but other people are coming in to do these complex jobs.” 

Integration should be a focus for the next government, she said.

I would be looking for the next government to look at this issue — how to integrate immigrants better, to help with work related issues, how to profit from their skills, experiences and education.

Ms Bortok left Ukraine the terrifying morning that bombs started dropping on her beautiful hometown of Kyiv at 5am on February 24, 2022.

Irish contacts made while she worked as spokesperson for the EU Advisory Mission to rebuild public trust in police in Ukraine after Russia’s previous invasion helped her find her way to Cork.

Ireland has been hugely welcoming to Ukrainians in their hour of need, Ms Bortok said.

“I think people here understand how it is to have to leave everything behind, to be pushed out, and to go somewhere else.

“I never came across a bad situation with a person here in Ireland.

“I never came across racists or Nazis here. And if I ever did, I would understand it is a small number of people. Irish people are not about hate. They’re about family, loving each other, having a good laugh, supporting each other.”