The number of Ukrainian refugees living in Kerry has reduced by over 30% in the space of a year.
That’s according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office, which shows over 6,500 Ukrainians living in the county at the start of November.
The figure is a drop from September last year, when more than 9,600 people fleeing the war were living in Kerry.
According to the report, Kenmare had the highest number of Ukrainian arrivals nationally at the start of November.
The report shows, in the over three years since the Russian invasion began, more than 119,000 (119,043) people from Ukraine have arrived in Ireland; of those, over 83,000 (83,594) remained in the country after August 31st this year.
According to the CSO, as of November 3rd, 6,642 Ukrainian refugees are in Kerry, down from 9,630 at the end of September 2024.
This figure is based on the number of PPSN allocations either through the address of the post office where Department of Social Protection assistance was sought ; or, if available, the arrivals' residential address where an Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) is payable to the host of the residence.
The Kenmare Local Electoral Area is accommodating the highest number of Ukrainians, with 1,873 in the area.
This shows that Ukrainians account for just under 7% (6.9%) of the population of the Kenmare LEA.
Tralee is housing the next highest amount, with 1,727 residing in the area - below 5% (4.81%) of the population of the area; while Ukrainians account more than 5% (5.4%) of Killarney LEA's population, with 1,680.
691 Ukrainians are being accommodated in the Listowel LEA - 2.3% of the area’s population, while a further 491 are living in the Corca Dhuibhne LEA – just over 3% (3.28%) of the region's population.
Meanwhile, the Castleisland area was the only region in the county which saw an increase during the period, with 180 Ukrainians living in the area, up from 148 in September last year.
This represents 1% of the total population of the Castleisland LEA.
Nationally, women aged 20 years and over accounted for 45% of Ukrainians in Ireland, people aged under 20 years of age account for 28%, while 27% are men aged 20 years and over.
