Supports for Ukrainians in Ireland

This page lists organisations that are helping people who have come to Ireland from Ukraine. We will update this page with new information regularly.

You can also read about how to get state supports, including immigration status, social welfare and healthcare.

The organisations listed here are providing services across the whole country. Many local groups and charities provide help too.

A Community Response Forum has been set up in each local authority area to help deliver local supports for Ukrainians.

The following services have information available in Ukrainian and/or Russian:

State supports

The Irish Government has published information on the supports that are available.

The HSE (the Irish healthcare authority) has information on health services in Ireland.

Immigration and international protection

The Irish Refugee Council has information on the temporary protection directive and your rights. You can also call the Irish Refugee Council on (01) 913 1528 for Ukrainian language information. The helpline is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 1pm.

The European Commission has a freephone helpline in Ukrainian that can give you information on EU entry and travel, your right to education and access to jobs or healthcare.

• Freephone 00 800 6789 1011 from within the EU
• Phone 00 32 22 99 96 96 from outside the EU (charges apply)

The helpline also provides information in official EU languages and Russian and offers a free call back service. You can also contact the European Commission for information through an online contact form.

Other Ukrainian and Russian language information

You can also read:

• A Parent's Guide to Childcare
• Tips for Parents - a guide to starting primary school available in Ukrainian and Russian
• The Open Community’s Swift Integration App has information about living in Ireland

Many local Education and Training Boards have free English language course.

Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) have been set up within local Educational Training Boards (ETB). This service will help you find school places and can also support schools to meet children’s needs.

You can find information about childcare and primary school on gov.ie. Information about learning resources and other supports for children coming from Ukraine on the Irish National Teachers' Organisation website. You can contact the primary school helpline for parents for advice and information.

Third Age has free English conversation classes.

The Right Course has information about adult education courses.

You can get information on continuing your third level education in Ireland by contacting the National Student and Researcher (NSR) helpdesk on 01 474 7788, or by emailing NSRHelpdesk@mu.ie.

Childcare

You can read A Parent's Guide to Childcare in Ireland for information about childcare services. This leaflet is available in Ukrainian and Russian.

Information for children and young people

Spunout has information and advice for young people, including information about finding youth groups in your local area. You can also contact their Youth Information Chat service if you have questions about living in Ireland.

Childline has a support service for Ukrainian children.

The EPIC programme can help you to find a job and can help you develop skills that will help to prepare you for working in Ireland.

JobAid helps Ukrainians to find a job in the European Union. You can search for available jobs in Ireland. The jobs advertised are only for people who have left Ukraine because of the war.

CVhelp.ie has free CV templates for a variety of job types.

Read more about looking for work.

The Law Society of Ireland has a list of law firms that can offer a desk and internet access to Ukrainian lawyers who have moved to Ireland.

The Ukrainian community in Ireland has created a list of Ukrainian-speaking psychotherapists from Kyiv Gestalt University who are giving free counselling.

You can get free travel on any subsidised public transport service, (Irish rail, Bus Eireann, Go-Ahead Ireland, Dublin Bus and Luas) upon arrival into Ireland for the journey to your final destination. Local link services are also included.

You should show:

• Your Ukrainian passport, or other government issued Ukranian ID, and proof that you have arrived in Ireland in the past 7 days, or
• Confirmation of status from a co-ordinating group or charity involved in the Ukrainian crisis

You can open a basic bank account if you do not have the ID and proof of address that you need to open a current account. The Irish Banking Culture Board has a Guide to Basic Bank Accounts in Ukrainian.

Many banks have made it easier to open a bank account if you have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine.

An Post (the Irish postal service) has current accounts. You need photo ID (you can use expired ID), your temporary permission letter and your PPS number. You need proof of address:

• A signed letter from the person you are staying with along with a household bill in their name
• A letter on headed paper if you are staying in temporary accommodation provided by the Irish state.

If you don’t have a safe postal address, you can use the Address Point service from An Post.

You can get a free SIM card with 3 months of free usage from any local post office. Bring your temporary permission letter. This is the letter that says you are living in Ireland under the Temporary Protection Directive.

You can send letters and parcels to Ukraine for free if you are Ukrainian or have recently arrived in Ireland from Ukraine. You should show either your temporary permission letter or photo ID.

You can get free access to computers and to the internet at any public library. Contact your local library to find out more about how to use these services.

If you have a vacant home that you want to offer to accommodate people from Ukraine, you can register to make an offer. You can read information on what is involved.

You can pledge accommodation on the Irish Red Cross website. You can pledge a spare room in your home or a vacant property. After you leave your details, someone from the Irish Red Cross will contact you to get further details. The Irish Red Cross is working with the Irish Government to match people who have accommodation to offer, with refugees who have come to Ireland.

You can get an €800 per month Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP). You can also get support and practical information about providing accommodation to refugees from Ukraine from Helping Irish Hosts.

If you speak Ukrainian and want to help, you can contact the International Protection Accommodation Service.

You can volunteer to help with conversational English classes through the Third Age.

NASC Migrant and Refugee Rights has a community sponsorship programme that helps people to support refugee families in their local areas. The Open Community supports community sponsorship programmes for refugees. They also run online support sessions and free legal advice.

Read about how people and businesses can help on gov.ie. Business can pledge help on Pryvit.ie.

The following organisations can give you immigration advice.