Ireland says it is "on the edge of possibility" because of Ukrainian refugees

Ireland has said that there is nowhere to place Ukrainian refugees, which means that it will be very difficult to accept more people as previously planned. This is reported by The Financial Times.

The article says that the Irish government started sounding the alarm already in August, but now the possibilities have been exhausted. Because of the current situation, Ireland is considering limiting the period of stay of Ukrainian refugees in housing, which is financed with public funds.

As the Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar said, the upcoming restrictions do not affect the country's attitude to what is happening in Ukraine and do not underestimate the sympathy of the Irish people, but "the limit of possibilities" has already come.

We just don't know whether we will be able to provide housing for ... another 30,000 to 50,000 people if that number arrives over the next year - and judging by the current figures, that's not far off," he said.

The publication notes that Ireland has long been experiencing a housing crisis, which has been exacerbated by the influx of refugees.

To influence the situation, Irish Integration Minister Roderick O'Gorman suggested allowing newly arrived Ukrainian refugees to stay in state institutions for only 90 days.

Many other EU countries have already changed their rules on Ukrainian refugees and it makes sense

Varadkar believes it makes sense to "harmonise what Ireland is proposing with what other Western European countries are proposing".

The Irish government says 98,390 Ukrainians have registered for temporary residence since the full-scale invasion began. About 20 per cent of them are working and not living in public housing.