Publication
Employment, childcare and education
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Once you receive your permission letter confirming that you have been granted Temporary Protection under the EU Directive, you are entitled to seek employment or self-employment and vocational training education activities in Ireland.
We offer a range of supports through gov.ie/therightcourse.
We offer a range of employment supports through Intreo.
Intreo is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports and services.
You can find more information at www.gov.ie/intreo.
JobsIreland is a website which connects anyone who is looking for employment with employers who are advertising vacancies.
Find out more at JobsIreland.ie.
Ukrainian citizens can work legally in Ireland once they have received their letter confirming they have been granted Temporary Protection under the EU Directive. They are then also entitled to the full range of statutory employment rights and protections in the same manner as Irish workers.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the State body responsible for employment rights. Information on employment rights is available at workplacerelations.ie or by contacting the WRC at 0818 808090 or 059 9178900.
If you are taking up employment or setting up a business and want to understand a little more about what to do and how the tax system works in Ireland you can get more information on the Revenue website.
Supports are in place to assist Ukrainians who are seeking the recognition of their qualifications in Ireland.
The academic and professional recognition of qualifications can enable Ukrainians based in Ireland to pursue employment opportunities, to practice their professions of choice, or to avail of new educational opportunities.
Advice on the academic recognition of foreign qualifications can be obtained through NARIC Ireland, a free service hosted and operated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).
QQI is the state agency responsible for promoting the quality, integrity and reputation of Ireland’s further and higher education system.
This service compares foreign qualifications to major award types and levels on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), which sets foreign qualifications clearly into an Irish context. QQI’s NARIC database lists a number of Ukrainian qualifications including general professional, further education, and higher education qualifications. If a qualification is not currently listed, a request can be made to NARIC Ireland who will provide this information if possible. NARIC Ireland is working with the wider NARIC network across Europe to expand the list of Ukrainian qualifications currently available.
A guide to NARIC has been translated into Ukrainian and has also been made available in a wide range of other languages.
If a profession is regulated in Ireland, the recognition of foreign qualifications must be completed by the relevant national competent authority with responsibility for that profession. This is a key step before a qualification holder may practice that profession. Examples of such professions in Ireland include Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Electrical Contractors and Architects.
A person seeking to practice a regulated profession is advised to engage with the relevant competent authority with responsibility for that profession in order to familiarise themselves with the regulatory requirements in Ireland and to apply for the recognition of their qualifications.
A list of regulated professions in Ireland alongside the contact information for each competent authority is available on the government’s website: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d7527-professional-qualifications-recognition/#contacts
The Early Childhood Care and Education programme provides 2 years of free pre-school to children. The Early Childhood Care and Education programme is known as ECCE. ECCE is provided for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, from September to June. ECCE is provided by over 4,000 providers throughout the country. The State pays the full cost of ECCE to the providers an parents do not have to pay fees.
Children must be aged at least 2 years and 8 months in the September of the start of the ECCE term. Children must be no older than 5 years and 6 months by the end of the ECCE term in June.
You can contact a local ECCE provider to see if they have a place for your child, or you can contact your local County Childcare Committee who can help you to find a place. You can find information on your local County Childcare Committee on www.myccc.ie.
Childcare in Ireland is provided for children aged from 6 months to 15 years. Childcare is provided by:
- centre-based childcare services
- childminders who look after children in the childminder's own home, or
- childminders, au-pairs or nannies who work in the child’s home
The State provides help with childcare fees through the National Childcare Scheme, the NCS. The NCS pays all or part of the cost of childcare. The NCS is available to registered childcare providers only, which includes all centre-based childcare services and some childminders who work in their own homes.
If you have been granted Temporary Protection, the NCS can cover the full cost of childcare under NCS sponsorship arrangements. Your local County Childcare Committee on www.myccc.ie can direct to the appropriate NCS sponsor.
More information on the NCS can be found on www.ncs.gov.ie.
You can contact a local childcare provider to see if they have a place for your child, or you can contact your local County Childcare Committee who can help you to find a place. You can find information on your local County Childcare Committee on www.myccc.ie.
Підтримка дітей з обмеженими можливостями в доступі до дошкільного виховання та освіти
Поддержка детей с ограниченными возможностями в доступе к дошкольному воспитанию и образованию
Schools are now closed for summer holidays until late August. To enrol your child in a school place for the autumn term from late August, please contact your local Regional Education and Language Team.
A number of schools offer a school based Summer Programme for students who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine. To find out more, please contact your local Regional Education and Language Team.
A guide for parents on the school system in Ireland can be found here: https://www.pdst.ie/cultural-and-linguistic-supports
Children aged between 4 and 18 will be supported to access public primary or post-primary education provided by the State as appropriate.
You can approach any local primary or post-primary school and seek information about a place for your child or children.
In Ireland children attend primary school from ages 4 or 5 to age 12 or 13.
Children attend post-primary, sometimes called secondary school, from ages 12 or 13 for five or six years.
Children in Ireland must be in receipt of an appropriate education between the ages of 6 and 16.
To enrol your child in a local school, you can approach the school directly. A list of all schools is available to help you find your local schools.
If the school has a place for your child, they will provide you with more information on how to enrol in that school.
If you have any difficulties in securing a placement, contact your local Regional Education and Language Team. There are 16 teams, based around Ireland.
If you have moved accommodation since schools closed for the summer and now need to change school, you must apply directly to the new school.
If you have any difficulties in securing a placement, contact your local Regional Education and Language Team.
Many families from Ukraine are currently staying in short-term temporary accommodation.
It may be necessary to change the location of the accommodation provided. In some cases, this may mean students would need to move school. Schools have been made aware of this.
Where students are staying in temporary accommodation that they know will be for a short period of time, for example, under 4 weeks, parents may wish to consider waiting to enrol their child in a school. If you wish to enrol in a school but you are aware that your accommodation may change, it is useful to let the school know, so they can support your child appropriately.
The REALT can provide information and assistance. Find information on supporting your child.
Ireland has its own indigenous language – Irish (called Gaeilge in the Irish langauge). Most children in Ireland learn the language as a subject in school from the first year of primary school – junior infants – until the final year in post-primary school.
While English is the main spoken language in most of the country, Irish is spoken as the primary language in a number of regions in Ireland. These regions are known as the Gaeltacht. Approximately 2.1% of the population of Ireland live in these regions.
The schools in these regions teach the curriculum through the medium of Irish and have close links with the local community in their work to promote and preserve the language.
In some schools in other parts of the country, education is provided through the medium of Irish. These schools are known as Gaelscoileanna (primary schools) and Gaelcholáistí (post-primary schools).
Before enrolling their child in a school, parents may wish to confirm the language of instruction in the school. They may also discuss with the school authorities the most appropriate placement for their child in light of their existing language skills and education needs.
Please note that the online application form will close to allow for a ‘rollover’ of applications. The application form will be available on 14 June.
New applications for school transport for the above children must be made by the parent/guardian directly.
A new application is if your child has:
- been enrolled for the first time in school
- moved schools
- moved accommodation
If you have made an application for your child for school transport previously and their home or school address has not changed, you do not need to re-apply for school transport, the application will carry over to the 23/24 school year.
If a pupil has changed their home address or changed school then a new application must be submitted.
New applications for school transport can be made from the 14 June 2023 via a link to an online form which is available here:
All new and existing applications for transport will be assessed by Bus Éireann over the summer months.
For pupils residing in host family homes/independent living/pledged accommodation, the normal eligibility criteria will not apply and eligibility will be granted to the school that the child/children are enrolled in provided that this is the closest school that has capacity for the pupil at the time of enrolment.
As seats are assigned to pupils, Bus Éireann will issue tickets to families. Children will be expected to meet the service at the existing pick-up point.
There will be no charge for the ticket.
In cases where there is no existing service or where there is no capacity on an existing service, a grant can be offered to the family as appropriate to support them with the cost of transport arrangements.
Процес надання послуг шкільного транспорту для дітей, які прибувають до Ірландії з України – 2023/2024 навчальний рік
Процесс предоставления услуг школьного транспорта для детей, прибывающих в Ирландию из Украины – 2023/2024 учебный год
New applications for school transport for the 2023/2024 school year for the above children must be made by the school principals. School principals should complete the information required on the application form below and return it to their local REALT*. The information will be submitted by REALT to Bus Éireann in order to provide school transport services as required.
A new application is if the student has:
- been enrolled for the first time in school
- moved schools
- moved accommodation centre/modular build/group setting
If you have made an application for a student(s) for school transport previously, and their home or school address has not changed, you do not need to re-apply for school transport, the application will carry over to the 23/24 school year.
It is important to ensure the details for these students are correct and up to date.
*Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) are hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland and staffed by regionally based education support personnel. The primary role of the REALT is to build on existing regional education support structures and the initial focus will be on assisting families in securing school places. REALT will also support schools in the area to meet the needs of these children as they emerge, to advise and support the Department of Education in developing new capacity where required, and to co-ordinate the provision of education services to schools and families across their defined area.
Details of your local REALT can be found at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/48639-information-for-schools-ukraine/
- phone number: 057 9325467 (during office hours)
- email address: transportapplications@education.gov.ie
The 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across the country offer English language skills courses for adults.
If you need to learn English or improve your English, the ETB will assess your English language skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking, and will arrange appropriate language and other learning supports to help you develop your English.
This service is free.
Contact your local ETB using the contact details below.
All displaced Ukrainian nationals in receipt of Temporary Protection, looking to apply for a place in Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for the 2023/24 academic year, should do so by applying through the Central Applications Office (CAO). A list of the HEIs and courses is available at www.cao.ie/courses
As part of the CAO process, you will be required to confirm whether your entry is on the basis of the 2023 Leaving Certificate results. In all other cases, your application will be based on any academic documentation (such as English Language competency certificate, Ukrainian school tests etc.) you present to individual HEIs.
A bursary, worth up to €6,115, has been announced for students living in Ireland and have been granted temporary protection under section 60 of the International Protection Act 2015 to study an approved PLC (Post-Leaving Certificate) course.
FET courses and programmes are provided through the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across Ireland and though the SOLAS eCollege online platform.
There are a range of options available at https://www.fetchcourses.ie/courses.
Further education is free of charge or heavily subsidised. Courses are designed to support learners who are interested in:
- upskilling to enter the workforce or progress in their existing career
- progressing into further or higher education
- undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship
- developing their skills in reading and writing
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has been in touch with Irish students who were studying in Ukraine.
The department is also working with the universities and the Irish Universities Association to help Irish students continue their education in a relevant programme at the right level.
Ukrainians who wish to commence a higher education programme in Ireland will be able to do so without being charged international fees.
