Just over 60 per cent of Irish charities and community groups have provided support services to the over 33,000 Ukrainian refugees that have so far arrived in Ireland, according to a new survey of 156 organisations carried out by The Wheel, the national association of charities.
According to the survey which was carried out by The Wheel in May, the range of services provided to Ukrainian refugees includes accommodation, clothing and food donations, information, access to education, translation services and support for children and young people.
Just over 75 per cent of the surveyed organisations providing services to Ukrainian refugees say that these additional services are having an impact on their resources, with a quarter (25 per cent) reporting a severe impact on their resources.
Just under 45 per cent said the local support available to Ukrainian refugees in their communities is not yet sufficient.
Speaking at The Wheel’s national charity summit at Croke Park today, Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel said: “Irish charities, community groups and NGOs are working around the clock both in Ireland and abroad to assist people affected by the war in Ukraine.
"This additional work is often resourced from existing funds, which may have a knock-on effect on other services. It is crucial that both charities and Government now shift their attention to how these services will be resourced in the medium and long-term.”
The Wheel also welcomed the addional €10.5 million in funding to assist the community response to support people arriving from Ukraine, which was announced this morning by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys and Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development Joe O’Brien.
Ms Garvey said: "This additional funding will strengthen the community reponse to the huge challenges of integrating over 33,000 people in our communities."
Community Response Forums have been established in every local authority area to coordinate local responses to the Ukraine crisis.
Building on structures and relationships which were highly effective during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Community Response Fora will enable all those involved to work together under the stewardship of the local authority.
Supplementing the support and services being provided by government agencies at a local level, the purpose will be to ensure effective communication and information sharing in the coordination of local community and voluntary actions in providing community supports to the new Ukrainian communities.
Representatives of over 400 charities gathered at Croke Park today for The Wheel’s annual Summit for charities, community organisations and social enterprises. The gathering heard contributions from over 20 speakers including Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
