Ukrainians in Ireland succeeding in asylum applications at twice rate of other nationalities
Ukrainians
have applied for asylum in Ireland, with more than 80 per cent succeeding in their application – twice the rate of other nationalities –, data from the
Department of Justice
shows.
The figures, provided to The Irish Times, show since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 until May 26th this year, a total of 969 Ukrainian nationals have applied for international protection. Some 77 applications from Ukrainians have been made this year.
'Since 2022, 367 decisions regarding international protection applications from Ukrainian nationals have been made,' a department spokesman said.
He said 83 per cent of these 'resulted in the applicant being given a permission to remain in the State – generally refugee status'.
READ MORE
'In 2022-2024, 217 decisions regarding Ukrainian applications for international protection were made.
'In 2025 to May 28th, a further 149 decisions have been made.'
While the more than 100,000 Ukrainian nationals here have temporary refugee status, providing them with the right to work and to study, school places and childcare, as well as heavily State-subsidised accommodation, their status is not guaranteed into the future.
In contrast, international protection guarantees the right to live and work here permanently, as well as to bring immediate family to live here.
The EU Temporary Protection Directive, introduced in March 2022, has been renewed annually. It remains unclear whether it will be further extended in March 2026.
Brian Killoran, co-ordinator of Ukraine Civil Society Forum, says increasing numbers of Ukrainians are asking about applying for international protection as they look to solidify their legal position in the country.
'Last
year, a survey showed 53 per cent of people from Ukraine living here since 2022 wanted to stay,' he said. This represented an increase on the 41 per cent who expressed a wish to stay permanently the previous year.
'The longer they are here, they put down roots, children are in school, the more likely they are to want to remain here. They are increasingly asking about their options and one of those is international protection,' said Mr Killoran.
If a significant proportion were to apply in the coming year, 'that could put unbearable pressure on the international protection system', he warned.
'We need to know what will happen post-March 2026. Member states need to say what are the long-term plans.'
When people asked about applying for asylum, he said they were advised 'it is far from guaranteed'.
He also said there was a potential 'loss of rights' if the applicant was transferred out of the temporary protection system into the asylum application system.
These could include losing the right to work, to study and to live in their current accommodation, said Mr Killoran.
'They may find making an application for international protection disruptive to their life. We can't say to people, 'Don't do it' but we do advise people to get advice. An asylum application is not an easy route.
[
A Ukrainian in Dublin: 'People are less direct in Ireland. There are 50 shades of great'
Opens in new window
]
'Ultimately, the State needs to define post-temporary protection options. The priority is that they do that.
'Temporary protection was never meant to be a long-term measure, so bringing that to an end has to be done in a co-ordinated way,' said Mr Killoran.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August 20th: On the long wait for Leaving Cert results, loving bikes, and Maurice for the Áras
Sir, – This week my family, like many others, is nervously awaiting the CAO offers on August 27th. We are trying not to worry about the 6,000 additional applicants, and how this will affect points for our daughter's chosen university programmes. We also know that we can do nothing to address the unfair playing field that is the points race. Leaving Certificate results continue to be artificially inflated, whereas our daughter, who completed the European Baccalaureate examination in Brussels will not benefit from any post-marking adjustment. READ MORE Most of all, we are amazed that Ireland treats its young people so poorly. How can it be acceptable that Leaving Certificate results are only published on August 22nd, offers made five days later, and students and their families are expected to organise themselves to start their studies in just a couple of weeks? All this in a country experiencing a massive housing crisis. Ireland is an outlier in this regard. Our daughter received her European Baccalaureate results in the first week of July. Similarly, across most European countries, students obtain their results in late June or early July. Most of our daughter's friends accepted university places at European universities months ago, and they have had time over the summer to secure accommodation in student residences or in private apartments. Whereas, our daughter and all Irish students are stuck in a limbo all summer and then faced with a stressful mad scramble. Why can we not treat our young people and their families better? – Yours, etc, DR VICTORIA BRUCE, Brussels, Belgium. Connolly and the presidency Sir, – I was baffled to read your reporting on Saturday (August 16th)regarding Catherine Connolly's views on our Defence Forces. Deputy Connolly states: 'They are not, and should never become, an army. Armies fight wars. Ireland does not need an army.' This is quite odd, given that our Defence Forces consist of the Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Reserves. While lamenting that they are 'increasingly militarised' Deputy Connolly also states that, 'Our Defence Forces exist to protect our people and our sovereignty.' How is it intended that they will serve this function without being 'militarised' and without being willing to fight a (defensive) war? Lastly, Deputy Connolly lists among countries that we 'cannot trust' France, England (sic) and the United States. Yet she is insistent that these permanent members of the United Nations Security Council should retain a veto over deployment of our Defence Forces. These confused and contradictory views are concerning for a candidate aspiring to be Supreme Commander of our Defence Forces. – Yours, etc, DAVE McGINN, Naas, Co Kildare. Sir, – Congratulations on making a page one story from the fact that Catherine Connolly TD, our only confirmed presidential candidate at this stage, believes Ireland 'cannot trust' the United States, Britain and France when it comes to international law. After witnessing almost two years of the horror in Gaza, which has been armed and funded by the United States, Britain, Germany, France and others, it is hardly shocking that a vocal campaigner for peace is willing to condemn the US in particular, as the country which could have stopped the genocide in an instant. Not only has the US armed, funded, supported and abetted the slaughter of civilians in one of the most crowded places on earth, which is half the size of Co Louth, it has repeatedly used its veto at the United Nations Security Council to block attempts to bring some relief to the traumatised people of Gaza. At the same time, we are seeing protesters in their 70s and 80s in the United Kingdom getting arrested and threatened with imprisonment for the terrible crime of wearing Palestine Action t-shirts at protest marches and demonstrations. Meanwhile, there does not seem to be any consequences at all for the UK-based arms companies who supply weapons to Israel or the UK pilots who fly recognisance flights on behalf of the army which is dropping the bombs on displaced civilians in tents every day. I would be appalled if any candidate for the presidency of Ireland felt that these countries have a 'moral compass' left at this stage, – Yours, etc, CIARAN TIERNEY, Galway city. Maurice for the Áras? Sir, – It was with great joy that I read Maurice Manning's letter on Monday (August 18th). It brought me back to his lectures in UCD, extremely well attended, as he imparted knowledge, a witty raconteur, while, practically as ever, reminding us he did not like correcting exams in August. While his analysis is certainly correct, there is much merit to a quiet life, I also feel that his companions in Smyth's were on to something and 'Maurice for the Áras' would have us all feeling the benefit had he decided on that path instead. – Yours , etc, NIAMH BYRNE, Fairview, Dublin 3. Trump and Mr Magoo Sir, – For some time I have mused over the dominant personality within Donald Trump. I have narrowed it down to two, both of which were on display as he welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to the Oval Office. On the one hand we have the daydreaming Walter Mitty, self-mythologising as heroic and admired, the most successful business man, greatest dealmaker and settler of wars. On the other we have Mr Magoo, recklessly oblivious to reality, ignoring facts, stumbling from faux pas to faux pas, miraculously escaping the reproach rightly to be expected after such egregious behaviour. Overall, I think Mr Magoo wins. – Yours, etc, PAT MURPHY, Co Wicklow. Ryanair responses Sir, – Ryanair's response to Pricewatch in relation to their 'minors policy' was unpleasant insofar as it was insulting, abusive and derogatory toward their customers and Mr Pope. If you take out the unpleasant bits, the answer to the questions remains unchanged. I must assume that the insulting, abusive and derogatory bits are also company policy and this is why they were included. One wonders if the unpleasantness policy is mandated by the board of the company or simply its executives? And also, what purpose it serves? – Yours, etc, ROB STRUNZ, Scariff, Co Clare. Sir, – I don't believe it. Ryanair is set to increase the number of seats out of Ireland by 15.5 per cent this winter. ('R yanair adds 600,000 seats to Irish winter schedule ,' August 16th). In the midst of rising temperatures and numerous wildfires in Europe, Ryanair are actually planning to increase the amount of warming greenhouse gas they are pumping into the atmosphere. What kind of insanity is this? – Yours, etc, CELESTINE O'REILLY, Foxrock, Dublin. Portiuncula Hospital Sir, – I understand that five separate reviews identified serious concerns with maternity care at Portiuncula Hospital in Co Galway. In these circumstances it seems difficult to understand why people are arranging protests to demand the restoration of such services at the same hospital facility. – Yours, etc, BILLY HANNIGAN, Limekiln, Dublin 12. Older people and large houses Sir, – Lorcan Sirr plays an old record when he posits that 'owning a large house doesn't mean you are wealthy'. ('Older renters are particularly vulnerable amid Ireland's housing crisis,' August 18th) He (or the headline writer) asks 'Who is anybody to tell an older person that their house is too big for their needs?' – a loaded question if ever there was one. Our constitution rightly guarantees property rights; however, the simple fact is that most pensioners are currently receiving benefits (pension and health) far in excess of the contributions they have made to the PRSI system. Asset inflation on the other hand means their housing assets are worth far in excess of what they paid (with no Capital Gains Tax and minuscule property tax). It's instructive that social welfare means testing explicitly excludes the principal private residence, but modest savings of a renter are included. Pity the younger 'generation rent' working and paying high rates of income tax to fund the pensions of the propertied generation. It is also a pathetic reflection on Ireland's banking and legal establishment that bridging finance is absent; my suspicion is that since being stung during the boom, banks are focused on simple lending where they will not be required to bring drawn-out court cases against obstinate 'hard luck cases' when things go awry. – Yours, etc, MATTHEW GLOVER, Lucan, Co Dublin. You, me and my lovely bike Sir, I am writing in response to Sean Mooney (You, me and my lovely SUV, Letters , August 18th)) and to declare my undying and unconditional love for my bicycle. I am unapologetic about its practically non-existent running costs, superfluous health benefits and ability to park almost anywhere. I sit, pedalling past queues of traffic in smug satisfaction that I am not harming the health of the local population with toxic fumes or accelerating climate change with CO2 emissions. I arrive at my destination at a time not dictated by traffic and muse on my most recent journey in an SUV. Sitting sedentary in traffic, watching my bank balance drain as the fuel empties, inhaling toxic chemicals and listening to inane rubbish and endless advertisements on the radio. Sean's claim about tax being applied to whatever is popular is patently wrong – nobody in Amsterdam pays a tax to cycle. His claims of improved safety and lowest ever emissions are conspicuous for their lack of evidence. This answer as to why is simple – there is none. Marginally improved emissions may be applauded, only for the fact the number of cars on Irish roads has almost doubled in the past 25 years, obliterating any benefit in this regard. The sad reality is that the world is burning. We need urgent affirmative action, unity and meaningful discourse. Instead, we get outlandish opinions published in an effort to drive engagement through outrage. I cannot tell who is most at fault in this sorry exchange – Mr Mooney for his views, The Irish Times for promoting them, or me for rising to the bait. – Yours, in hope of a world where we are all better than this. EANNA MULVIHILL, Ashtown, Dublin. Carbon credits and promises Sir, – If last week's opinion article in The Irish Times is to be believed ('A wolf in sheep's clothing, the false promise of carbon credits', Science & Climate, August 14th), carbon markets 'almost always fail' and offer nothing but false promises. That makes for a strong headline, but it's far from the truth. The article's author, Karol Balfe of ActionAid Ireland, calls carbon markets a 'moral failure'. But I've seen them keep forests standing, fund schools, and put food on the table, especially in local communities in the Global South. We can't both be right, so let's look at the evidence. Balfe claims that carbon markets 'almost always fail to provide any real climate benefit,' citing the Guardian newspaper article that claimed 90 per cent of rainforest offsets certified by Verra were 'phantom credits.' However, Nature Climate Change found these projects have a solid scientific basis. Cambridge researchers say REDD+ slows deforestation in high-threat regions. And independent rating agencies call the Guardian's figures 'hugely overstated.' Balfe's most troubling claim is that projects 'have a history of failing to deliver for communities' in the Global South, particularly in Africa. As someone from Africa, and the CEO of the world's leading carbon standards body, I can tell you this is simply not true. Yes, like in any market, there have been missteps in some carbon projects. Yes, like in any market, there have been bad actors and even lawbreakers. That's true of every sector in the world. But to dismiss the entire mechanism as something that 'simply does not work' is an oversimplification that does more harm than good. I can't help but wonder if critics of this 'failed' system have visited carbon projects. Like the TIST programme in Kenya, where farmers have planted 26 million trees and funded food, schools, and resilience. Or Pakistan's Delta Blue Carbon project, restoring 600,000 hectares of mangroves, creating 15,000 jobs, and sequestering 142 million tonnes of CO2? These aren't failures. They are real projects, delivering measurable climate benefits and life-changing community impacts every day. Here's where we can agree with Balfe though: carbon markets must keep improving. They must be transparent, deliver tangible benefits, and have mechanisms in place that weed out bad actors. On that, there's no disagreement. But her proposed 'alternatives' (rapid decarbonisation, progressive taxation, vast increases in public climate finance, and fully funded just transitions) read more like a wish list than a workable plan. Of course we need all of those things. The question is when and how? These measures are politically stalled, chronically underfunded, and often decades away from they ever arrive. Meanwhile, communities facing climate impacts today cannot eat promises of future taxation reform. They cannot replace lost livelihoods with unfulfilled finance pledges. And they cannot wait for the 'perfect' system while their forests are being cut down right now. The hard truth is this: we don't have the luxury of pitting one solution against another. We need rapid decarbonisation and high-integrity carbon markets. We need public finance and private capital flowing through proven mechanisms that already deliver results on the ground. Balfe wants to throw away one of the few functioning tools we have . Well-run carbon projects deliver every single day. The alternative isn't just worse. It's unthinkable. Yours, etc. MANDY RAMBHAROS, CEO, Verra, Washington. Not a record Sir, – Mairéad Cashman spotted an open ham sandwich on a menu in a restaurant in Co Clare last week, priced at €22.50 and wonders if this is a record ? ( Letters, August 19th ). No, this is a rip off. €7.50 would be a record. – Yours, etc, PATRICK O'BYRNE, Dublin 7.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ukraine: Possibility and peril as Trump pushes for Putin-Zelenskiy meeting
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed Monday's summit at the White House with US president Donald Trump as a 'major step forward' towards ending Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years and towards setting up a trilateral meeting with Russia's president Vladimir Putin and Trump in the coming weeks. The meeting, attended by European leaders as well as Zelenskiy and Trump, resulted in one potentially major win for Ukraine: Trump's suggestion the US could play a role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine in a post-war era. But how reliable is Trump's support, and what would such security guarantees look like? Eastern Europe correspondent Dan McLaughlin and Europe correspondent Jack Power join Hugh Linehan to talk about the details of the discussions and why the path towards any sort of peace deal remains difficult and unpredictable.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the European dash to Wahington: pulling the emergency cord
Three days after Donald Trump's calamitous encounter with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the sight of a hastily assembled delegation of European political heavyweights arriving at the White House underlined how grave the consequences could be. Rarely has a single presidential performance so unsettled allies while emboldening an adversary. The Americans may have intended the summit to signal progress towards ending the war in Ukraine. Instead, it left Europe scrambling to limit the damage. The source of alarm is obvious. Trump reversed his recent insistence that any peace process must begin with a ceasefire. He also appeared willing to entertain Putin's demand that Kyiv surrender territory it currently controls. To many, this looked like capitulation to Russian aggression and a betrayal of Ukraine. Monday's emergency transatlantic mission brought Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington flanked by some of the most senior figures in European politics. Their presence was designed both to bolster the Ukrainian president and press Trump to reaffirm positions that had been cast aside in Anchorage. Chief among these was the need for credible and durable security guarantees for Ukraine, without which any settlement would simply invite future Russian aggression. European leaders who reconvened again yesterday will have been aware that the vague Anerican assurances they received are not worth very much. But they will have been somewhat reassured that principles so recklessly discarded were at least partially restored. The price for this modest success was an unedifying spectacle of European politicians flattering and fawning over a president who appears to relish the rituals of deference more than the responsibilities of leadership. READ MORE All the same concerns remain, though. Trump had, in recent months, inched towards a more considered stance on Ukraine. That he could be swayed so abruptly by Putin confirms European fears about his longstanding admiration – bordering on obsequiousness – for the Russian leader. The path ahead is now uncertain. The Kremlin responded to the Washington meeting with a position paper that repeated the aggressive demands that accompanied the full-scale invasion in 2022. Trump believes he can engineer a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy. Perhaps he can, though it is far from clear that the Russian would countenance such optics with a man he has so persistently sought to delegitimise. For now, the war grinds on with contining airstrikes on civilian targets, and Kyiv's stretched resources facing a slow but relentless Russian advance in the east. By drawing Trump into his worldview, Putin has deflected pressure for harsher sanctions, unsetttled European capitals and undermined Ukrainian morale. He has reason to view the week's work as a strategic success.
