Irish people may be asked to open their homes to help accommodate Ukrainian refugees, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.
Cabinet Ministers on Tuesday were told that the initial figure could be 6,000, but Minister Coveney said up to 20,000 Ukrainian refugees may come to Ireland.
Speaking after Cabinet to reporters at Dublin Castle, he said: “I think the truth, if we’re going to be able to accommodate the numbers expected to come here, we’re going to have to go beyond providing State-provided accommodation.
“It will probably have to involve families as well who are willing to open up their homes to Ukrainian families for a temporary period of time, but this is a war effort, so the norms need to get set aside.
“Ireland will do what is required of us in terms of sharing that responsibility in terms of how we look after Ukrainians.”
He said the message was clear from Cabinet that Ireland will "not be found wanting in terms of our generosity here and I think the Irish public will be very much supportive of that approach."
The Government has also waived any requirements for visas for Ukrainian citizens and Minister Coveney said “they’ll get a special refugee status when they get here for up to three years to be able to work and live here effectively as EU citizens.”
He said the EU believes there could be one million refugees and Ireland could end up taking 2%, which would amount to 20,000 people.
But he cautioned that it was too early to put definitive numbers on it.
He said there is now “indisputable evidence that war crimes are taking place in Ukraine,” and the “deliberate targeting of citizens.”
He said “thousands of people are being slaughtered and killed, where civilians are being targeted.”
He added: “The extent of the sanctions that are now in place or being put in place are extraordinary measures that mean that the EU is going to suffer as a result of these sanctions, as well as Russia but that’s a sacrifice that the EU is willing to make.
“I think the humanitarian response that Ireland will need to be central to and part of will also demand a level of solidarity, support and generosity and emotional connection with a country that’s just being torn apart at the moment by Russia aggression.”
Minister Coveney said 74 Irish citizens are still in Ukraine and Irish diplomats are said to be in close contact with them to give "accurate and up to date advice in terms of what they should do."
