More than 2,400 Ukrainian refugees now live in Kerry

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have, for the first time, given a picture of the number of Ukrainians that have arrived to Kerry since the start of the war in Ukraine in February.

he CSO data now shows that Kerry is now home to 2,448 refugees from the Ukraine. 

This is further broken down by the CSO into the six Kerry Local Electoral Areas.

The figures are correct up to May 22.

This shows that Killarney LEA has welcomed the most Ukrainian refugees, with 865 now living in this area.

Several hotels in the town are now home to those fleeing the war. 

Kenmare LEA, which takes in the Iveragh peninsula, has welcomed 736 Ukrainian refugees, while Tralee has welcomed 596 refugees. Listowel has welcomed 138. 

Corca Dhuibhne, which takes in the Dingle peninsula, has welcomed 102 refugees, while Castleisland has welcomed the smallest number, with just 11. 

The data for LEAs was compiled by identifying the post office from which the latest individual welfare payment was issued. This was used as a proxy for place of residence.
Since this does not necessarily indicate an exact place of residence, the figures for each LEA could differ slightly from the data supplied by the CSO.

Nationally, the LEA with the highest number of new Ukrainian arrivals since the beginning of March was North Inner City Dublin at 1,156.

Nationally, the figures show that between the first week in March – when the first refugees from the conflict arrived in Ireland – and May 22, a total of 33,151 Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) have been issued to people arriving from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive.
It is understood that figure may be slightly higher as not all of those who have arrived in the country have been issued with a PPSN.

Meanwhile, new figures have also been released from The Department of Education detailing the number of Ukrainian children now attending schools in the country. In Kerry, the figures show that there are 443 primary-school students as of June 3 and 175 secondary-school students – the third highest in the country.