More than 80,000 people who fled the war in Ukraine and travelled to Ireland were still here as of 3 June, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.
According to the latest report on 'Arrivals from Ukraine in Ireland', 113,917 beneficiaries of Temporary Protection from Ukraine arrived in Ireland and were given Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) between March 2022 and 3 June this year.
That is up 1,728 since 2 February this year and 4,351 since 29 September 2024.
However, the CSO said in its latest report that it wanted to focus instead on "the estimated cohort present in the country", which it puts at 80,031, or 70%, of the total number of arrivals from Ukraine since March 2022.
"This recent administrative activity count (recorded after 31 March up to 3 June) is deemed more appropriate as some arrivals may have subsequently left the State," the report said.
While recent CSO reports showed the total number of people fleeing the war who came to Ireland continued to gently climb, conversely the percentage of those who remained continued to fall, from 75% after 30 June 2024, to 71% after 30 November 2024, to 70% after the end of March this year.
Of the 80,031 people from Ukraine thought to be still in Ireland up to last month, 46% were women over the age of 20, 26% were men over 20 and 29% were people under 20.
In May 2025, 26,474 arrivals had earnings from employment, where their mean weekly earnings were €538.
The most common sector of employment remains wholesale, transport and accommodation at 43%, which is exactly the same as it was in February.
The data shows that a person's ability to speak English continues to be seen as a significant barrier to employment.
Of the more than 50,000 Ukrainians who attended an employment support event arranged by Intreo Public Employment Services by 3 June, the report said 54% noted that English language proficiency was a challenge in securing employment.
The figures show that 12,470 Ukrainians fleeing the war had enrolled in further education and training courses on 1 June 2025, of which 9,704 were enrolled in further education English language courses.
The report also showed that of the 50,111 who attended an Intreo employment support event, 44.6% had recorded previous occupations, with professionals being the largest group at 30% or 6,793 people.
'Temporary protection must come to end' - O’Callaghan
The Dáil has discussed a European Council recommendation on a transition out of temporary protection for displaced people from Ukraine with contributions from several TDs.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan proposed that Ireland opt into the council’s recommendation.
He said it is accepted that "even if the war in Ukraine remains protracted, temporary protection must come to an end".
He said the four sets of measures proposed promote "the transition to other legal statuses before the end of temporary protection".
The proposed recommendation would not be binding in nature, he said.
"There must be a coordinated response by the European Union to how that temporary protection comes to an end," he said.
"Everyone recognises, because of its name, that temporary protection, cannot go on forever. It must come to an end."
He said it would be "extremely dangerous" if Ireland adopted a "unilateral approach and say that we should just bring temporary protection to and end for ourselves".
He said then the thousands of people from Ukraine who are in Ireland at present would all apply for international protection.
"What we don’t want to do is completely disrupt our system of international protection," he said.
He said a "harmonised" response from "across the union" was important.
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said he understood that the motion was a non-binding council recommendation.
However, he said it "reflects a shift" that needs "scrutiny".
"Since 2022, Ukrainians in Ireland have been protected under the temporary protection initiative," said Mr Gannon
"It has allowed people to work, to live, to access education and healthcare"
"Now there is a pressure across the EU to move these individuals into long term residence schemes," he said.
Mr Gannon said it was important that this is "carefully managed" or "people will still fall through the cracks".
He said any transition "must be led with compassion".
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy said he had previously been called "heartless" for saying that temporary protection must come to an end.
"It is a matter of common sense that temporary measures should be temporary," he said.
He said an end to temporary protection was needed but that the Government "should have been planning long before now for how we move beyond temporary protection".
He said this should be based on "Ireland’s circumstances and not simply because the EU has decided that’s now what we should do".
The Government’s motion will be voted on next week.
