Ukrainian refugees in Ireland - Megathread

O, I've no doubt you made it abundantly clear on the arrangement and I think there's many like you now going to have to face difficult choices particularly after acting so graciously and compassionately.

I think your situation is not unique and believe it's precisely why many didn't follow through on pledges, it's an impossible situation, damned if do, damned if you don't.

Please do not feel in the slightest bit anxious, you've done more than enough. I may have pledged myself as I live alone but my location, style of house (quite mad) just wouldn't lend itself to hosting a family, but I absolutely respect and admire folks like you who could and did, whatever about my views on this crisis 😏

even now the Ukrainian groups in fb and telegram are full of those wondering how to remain in Ireland after the war is finished. Why not, they very much like it here. Full dole+ free accommodation+ free food 3 times a day or voucher for food+ free english classes + vouchers for clothes + free sim cards + free higher education with grants etc etc etc. Not a wonder they have plans to stay here rather than go back and rebuild their own country. is getting beyond and over any logic

Interesting Articles in the Irish Times. A lot of it we know already.

Indeed. Already people who are barely here a wet week are claiming ties to their local community and the right to stay in an area.

“These students have made friends; they have joined sports team; they know the area around the Address Hotel and now that is all just being taken away from them by a split decision."

Aren't they here since March or April? I am sympathetic but thousands of Irish people are already struggling with finding accommodation and schooling for their children and having to make huge compromises, moving counties away from their families and spending long hours commuting. I don't blame the Ukrainians but they've been given unrealistic expectations by our disastrous government with their zero planning of how they were going to manage all of this. This winter will be bad for everyone.

Could see that coming a mile away from the second this was announced…you didn’t need a fûckin degree in sociology.

come here only for safety and protection . Yeah sure..

all of a sudden…

” ohhh it’s really nice here, we get free cash, housing, free education & free healthcare … if we want to work there will be jobs “

that’s an absolute dream where they come from… this is quality of life x10000. Safety and security x10000 all from what they are accustomed to.

there is a pathway to a whole other quality of life and many will do their upmost to remain here….

how do they leave ? When the time comes ?

ok xx% will leave voluntarily.

what happens to the rest ?

apply for assylum ? Tie the courts up in knots until someone says… look for all 40,000 an amnesty, citizens now ?

does the government buy 10,000 or however many properties would be required with taxpayers money and hand it to them…

leaving a critical shortage of housing and money for taxpayers and citizens ?

all that is probably going to transpire…to some degree …

It certainly does say it all…In other words, all those who want to stay, probably can.

deportation becomes problematic ? It actually doesn’t…

they had roots and community in the Ukraine but left when it suited them. When it’s time to go from here because it suits us and we need them to, the Ukraine, their homeland is still there for them. They’ll be given a flight free gratis, not been asked to make their own way.

the above statement is alluding to an amnesty for all…Great..

youll start seeing these sorts of comments from government sources, trying to condition us. It’s really an absolute kip of borderline dictatorship…we might turn up to a ballot box but our influence ends there.. there is zero considerations from our supposed politicians as to our safety, wellbeing, or success…we are so far down their list of priorities, an afterthought or a NO thought… Kip of a place, an undemocratic kip.

Boggles you see what you want to see, hear what you want to hear and leave no room for objectivity . The article is actually NOT that long , read it back , 2/3 of it about accomodation issues and most if it Virtue signalling.

The Indo is adept at having Articles purported to be about an issue but its contents having nothing to do with the Articles header.

It's really not difficult to see what the narrative is, which is actually little do with education.

I've explained what the principles job is and of course you skirted over the actual point I made, I further explained the actual real narrative the article, "Virtue Signalling "

I don't incidently agree with the 48 hours notice malarkey, I've stated that numerous times, nor as you well know, I don't agree with the shambolic way this entire debacle has been managed.

I've dealt with your response to a comment about post in relation to an article, agree to disagree but don't be going off into a tangent.

I've explained what the principles job

lol. I'm pretty sure the principal knows what his job is and he very much entitled to his opinions without being labelled anything by perpetual anonymous internet contrarians.

Spoke to former colleague in a business that requires customers to supply ID and POA to sign up on contracts.

So last week they were inundated with "new arrivals" looking to sign up for 2 year contracts and expensive device (free)

Systems have very advanced verification procedures.

So Ukrainian passports / ,Driving licences presented ( no way to verify time) and the kicker, Bank statements, despite some in the country less than 3 weeks.

I got thinking about the Thousands of folks trying to change banks due to Ulster/KBC Closing , many elderly or limited knowledge of banking apps etc.

These people being forced to jump through hoops to open new bank accounts, Ludicrous bureaucracy, paper work and delays and yet, Ukranian refugees, with possibly no passport, questionable drivers licences , essentially no fixed abode and a nice letter can have bank accounts opened, literally within days.

It's simply extraordinary what is going on , not withstanding basic anti money laundering rules being ignored 🙄

I'm glad the marches are starting. This stuff has to stop. When ordinary people start to feel somewhat marginalised, they will become angry. It's starting to happen and worse it's going to get.

Unlikely… the next crisis the same thing will happen.

a precedent has been set… every NGO and certain people on the extreme left will want people from Yemen, burkino faso, Uganda, Sudan, Eritrea… the list goes on of places where war, tyranny, poverty are ongoing…

Amnesty Ireland are doing a great job of espousing more help for more countries..yet when someone questions it on Twitter… by posting an Irish Times Article about the lack of homes for Irish people and taxpayers who contribute buy and build them.. the reply ..from one of their boot lickers is..

A Labour councillor no less. Imagine voting for that. Jeeez.

I know of two schools in my area that are massively oversubscribed, large class-teacher ratios, and where local people with generations-long ties to their neighbourhood have had trouble getting places for their children. Waiting lists in triple digits. And yet each of these schools has accepted Ukrainian children. I would multiply this 1000s of times over to get a picture of what's going on around the country. It's very wrong and a slap in the face to Irish people to relegate their children to second class citizens when it comes to accessing education in their own areas.

I think there is also a sense of fatigue where I live at the endless waves of immigration in the last 20 years (the non EU economic migrants who take up so much of the social housing stock after they "graduate" from DP, the legal but very large in numbers Eastern European community, and many other nationalities). Too many of them are not economically self-sufficient and don't work. People are competing with the entire world for services which they have paid for in taxes, and their parents' and grandparents' taxes and while they have sympathy for people genuinely fleeing a warzone, there is definitely a sense of anxiety and stress at the endless influx with no apparent cap. I would also say that while many are decent people, they are far less likely to get involved in the community than locals - the litter picking group, the groups involved in preserving the environmental wellbeing and heritage of our area, the parents' councils in the schools, fundraising for local amenities, or volunteering in sports teams for kids. It erodes a sense of community and safety when so many people are and are willing to remain, strangers.

If Ukrainians were coming into the more socially cohesive Ireland of 20 years ago it would be different I think - there was more of a sense of "us" back then. Now we see the usual suspects stoking up outrage at the apparent preferential treatment given to Ukrainians over Syrians/Africans/non white people in DP, and ascribing "white privilege" to someone fleeing bombed-out Kharkiv. It would be amusing if it wasn't so bleak - you could actually count the days before the tweets and columns started appearing. Ireland couldn't even pride themselves on helping Ukrainians without being reminded that they aren't helping every single person in the whole world. Anyway. It continues.