A Ukrainian national who has been living in Cavan for over 20 years, Sergey Balan, has urged Irish people to remember that not all Ukrainian people are the same and that "in general people who come here come really for help". The farm manager who came to Ireland 22 years ago and works in Cavan, said Ukrainian people are "very grateful" for everything Ireland has done to help refugees from his country.
However, Mr Balan said the system in Ireland does "not really encourage" Ukrainians and others to work. He told the Joe Finnegan Show that in his time in Ireland he has seen a shortage of workers and he sees accommodation as a different issue. Mr Balan said the government could do more as Ukrainian people still need to come to Ireland.
"From the Ukrainian point of view," Mr Balan said, "I'm here 22 years and I see the system in Ireland is not really encouraging people to work. But it's not only Ukrainians, it's all of them. As a farm manager, I see there's a shortage of workers and a different issue is accommodation but, at the same time there's a lot of things that can be done because lots of Ukrainians are coming for different circumstances."
