Ukrainian refugees in Ireland - Megathread

road_high

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928462#Comment_118928462

I agree- we are a relatively wealthy nation and there’s a moral imperative above all else here. We have massive problems but we will rise to the occasion and share what little we can. It will mean using the likes of halls, tents etc. that’s war unfortunately

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928634#Comment_118928634

No one disagrees with the idea of offering support. The issue is that commitments are being made that aren't practical or sustainable and ignore the very real problems we have already in key areas (health, housing, access to key services and education etc).

We're a small island of 5 million people. We can only do so much.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928462#Comment_118928462

Katherine Zappone, is that you?

I have sympathy for these people absolutely, but I have a lot of sympathy for the people already here who are struggling too.

We can't save everyone I'm afraid.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928634#Comment_118928634

If we take in 50-100,000 Ukrainians now we then have to take in a similar number of Syrian , afghans, Yemeni , Africans , Asians .

We cannot house that many people ,the cost of living is going through the roof and the only way we can keep this up will be with tax increases because the welfare budget which is already close to 20 billion per year will need to be drastically increased ,our health services are over stretched as well our education services , schools are massively over subscribed and add thousands of extra school places have to be found over night with a pandemic still on going

livingdgx

Is nobody questioning the apparent “4 billion euro covid fund” that will now be used to house 200,000 Ukrainian refugees by the end of the year?….meanwhile, we have over 20,000 homeless Irish citizens on the street, which this fund hasn’t even been offered to?

this country is an absolute joke

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928846#Comment_118928846

If we take in 50-100,000 Ukrainians now we then have to take in a similar number of Syrian , afghans, Yemeni , Africans , Asians

Why?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929458#Comment_118929458

which 20,000 homeless on the streets? Seriously, are people this stupid or is it some kind of game to be posting lies in the internet?

whisky_galore

Hopefully this wave of enthusiasm will be still around when Myanmar, or sub Saharan Africa or Bangladesh goes to sh*t though wars or disasters.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929616#Comment_118929616

You'll be back on dripping with begrudgery I imagine.

👍️

iamwhoiam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928664#Comment_118928664

No I am not Katherine Zappone . ( silly remark ) I am woman that was moved by a group of young women with kids displaced by war and trying very hard to cope for the kids sake . I am not stupid and fully aware we cannot save everyone but for one fleeting moment I wanted to take them all home

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929616#Comment_118929616

They won't get anywhere near the same attention. Remember, this is an European conflict. That changes everything. Anyway, the Balkans seems to be militarising again, so, we might have another European conflict or genocide to focus on.

Potatoeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929458#Comment_118929458

The homeless on the street usually have addiction problems so you can’t house them. Would you rather a Ukrainian refugee or a junkie next door?

They should be in camps so they are not competing with Irish people for housing. That’s a really short sighted plan. What happens when students go back to college?

livingdgx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929833#Comment_118929833

There’s already refugees living next to Irish people, we have a refugee problem which nobody wants to actually talk about. Many Irish people leave new neighbourhoods etc because they’re overrun with non nationals and refugees.

Ireland is a mess currently and at this rate we’re comparable to Sweden

I don’t know if you can see specifically how young Irish people fall into addiction patterns because the system is entirely against us. Should you decide to go against the grain, you’re punished with huge tax brackets and now currently inflation. I get absolutely nothing in return for the amount of tax I pay, rental prices are immense, car insurance etc the whole system is against you from the get go.

We live in a country that doesn’t care about its own people, there’s no free rehabilitation centres available to these people. Should you actually sit and have a conversation with some of these people I imagine your opinion on them would change, how are people ever going to feel motivated for change when there’s no system in place to help them?

If Irish people want to attain a decent standard of living, they have to leave Ireland.

I find that incredibly sad

Potatoeman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930073#Comment_118930073

Yes, they need addiction centres but you can’t take an addict off the street and house them in a block of flats. There will be issues.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930073#Comment_118930073

LOL. 🤣

Refugees turning the Irish into junkies.

That's an 11 on the batshít-O-meter.

Marcos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118928846#Comment_118928846

Well, we'll find out later on in the year or next year after all the social unrest in the middle east which will happen as a result of the war in Ukraine. It supplies most of the wheat for bread for Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. The Arab Spring started as a reaction to higher prices and removal of food subsidies.

https://researchcentre.trtworld.com/perspectives/the-war-in-ukraine-has-an-economic-domino-effect-fuelling-global-social-unrest/

There will be the usual screeching of racist from the NGO sector when the mood turns against taking in Syrians, Afghans, Yemenis, Africans and Asians like you say. But I don't think that will make any difference if all the places in the parish halls and sports complexes are taken by Ukranian refugees.

Multipass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118929833#Comment_118929833

Not when they go back to college, it’s affecting students now. My daughter has had to sign a lease starting in June, we have 3 extra months of Dublin rent to pay, and it’s going to absolutely floor me.

keoclassic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930931#Comment_118930931

There are 2 or 3 posters here who don't want to hear this kind of thing. When this situation plays out it will leave a sour taste. Its great to see them using sports halls and gaa centres etc but how long is temporary in this case. I'd say nobody would have any problem with it for 6 months to a year ( it will cause huge disruption to club activities all the same) but after a year I would imagine clubs and societies will want them back......... And knowing gaa stalwarts as well as I do, 6 months might be too much to have their facilities compromised. I'm sure I'll be told I have no heart fairly soon for saying that but shur what about it!

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930073#Comment_118930073

Ireland spends 15% more per capita on social welfare than the OECD average; one of the major issues facing first home buyers is that councils have been out competing them in the housing market, buying up large quantities of accommodation for social housing.

Are you sure you live in Ireland and are not on Mars, because that's how out of touch with reality you are.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930931#Comment_118930931

I.started college in Dublin in 1993, I Had to sign one year leases for everywhere I lived.

Multipass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118933600#Comment_118933600

I also went to college in the 90s, I never heard of anyone, anywhere on a 12 month lease. No-one in my circles would have been able to afford it, out of the question. The difference is that you could always find somewhere to rent, yeah it might be a kip, but there was never this fear of finding absolutely nothing.

Subzero3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118927180#Comment_118927180

She's getting enough, je how are we going to fund this. Complete disaster from the government.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934133#Comment_118934133

we all will need the full support and backing of eu institutions such as the ecb and eib in order to fund whats needed.....

Beasty

I really should not need to say this across so many threads as you all should know - if you cannot be civil do not post. Otherwise your post gets deleted and you may face a sanction

noodler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930931#Comment_118930931

Nearly all leases start with a year but you can also give notice with 30 days if you have been there less than a year.

Not much use to you of your kids needs it until June next year of course

Subzero3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934142#Comment_118934142

Those fund's will be sent back to our government. Then they will make a balls of that too.

They need to build trailer parks like they have in the state's. Houses won't be built in time. You will have a growing population that want a right to a house, wether its social or private.

A large % of Ukrainians coming here won't be going back, That's the reality. They will have kids ect, the service's needed will grow. We couldn't do it before they arrived, look at how many people are on trolleys in hospitals.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934193#Comment_118934193

we ve no choice but to put our faith into our governments, yes they will make mistakes, and some huge ones at that, but thats where we re at...

what we need to do is just fcuking build houses for all, but again, we need the full support of eu institutions to do so, we also need to create our our institutions, dont mind this trail park nonsense, just fcuking build build build.....

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118934133#Comment_118934133

It's actually the funding of all this, that is perplexing, Michael Martin has said on more than one occasion, The EU will cover very little of the cost if at all.

Again, I reiterate Welcome, Support refugees but have a plan and be realistic, I just see chaos in the approach, little or no infrastructure in place, I commend those who have offered accommodation but in reality all the extraordinary gestures of Irish people, whilst laudable, these gestures are short term solutions. I do not see the vast majority of people affected by this appalling tragedy returning to Ukraine any time soon.

The post you quoted simply pointing out some realities that are happening whilst the narrative appears to suggest a bed of roses and money and other supports just being thrown at Ukrainian refugees. Irelands welfare system is extremely complex and in particular housing supports and eligibility criteria (Assuming there was housing available in the first place) . I will however say this, an Obvious refugee, invited to this country being essentially penalised because of the extraordinary kindness of a host, only a few weeks into this seems unfair to me. I make no assertions on what a fair weekly financial support should be.

Integritate

Was listening to a charity worker on the radio during the week describing her experiences with Ukrainian refugees. She stated that there should be a cap on the numbers while we are still trying to find suitable accommodation for the numbers that are here. When asked by the host if she expected that the Ukrainian refugees that she was dealing with would return back to Ukrainian, she said that initially most of them did indeed want to return home, but now after learning about the various social welfare services available to them in Ireland; especially the children’s allowance, that many wanted to stay in Ireland and have their male spouses join them after the war. This was the experience of a charity worker at the front line here in Ireland dealing with Ukrainian refugees. Her honesty was refreshing.

On the other hand you have our Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee, announcing on national television a couple of weeks ago that there were be no cap on the numbers arriving from Ukraine and that they would be prioritised for housing, health etc. If I was Ukrainian in Ireland and heard that announcment, I would immediately tell everyone back home to make their way to the far reaches of western Europe in order to avail of this unbelievable offer. Unbelievable, and of course discriminatory against those of us who live in Ireland.

So we have Fine Gael saying that there will be no cap on the number of Ukrainians who can come to Ireland and get PPS numbers, medical cards etc., with government estimates telling us that this number could be over 200K. And then we have their partners in government, the Green Party, announcing to the world last year that there will be no cap on the number of asylum seekers from elsewhere in the world that can move to Ireland, with the reward of their own door housing within 4 months. This is also discriminatory against those of us here, as one of the government’s own department alluded to in their report on the policy.

While the vast majority of us want to be altruistic and supportive of war victims, there has to be a limit on what we can do. If we had the social infrastructure in place e.g. a working healthcare system, sufficient spaces at schools and GP practices etc., then we should help as many as our health and social systems can support, but to overwhelm us with these types of numbers is not only lunacy, but it is financially unaffordable. Something is going to break, and it is going to break soon, with the negative consequences remaining with us for generations to come.

iamwhoiam

I cant find the quote now but did the Minister not say the priority for Ukrainians will be housing and health . That is not saying that they will be prioritised over anyone else on a hospital waiting list but rather that it is the prioty when dealing with them .