DUBLIN, Ireland: The European Union has placed Ireland on a 'red list' of countries incapable of absorbing additional Ukrainian refugees.

The designation is based upon Ireland having reached its ability to provide housing for more fleeing refugees.

Reports indicate that Ireland has taken in the most Ukrainians per capita of any western EU member state, welcoming the equivalent of 1.4 percent of Ireland's population.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said this week that the UK's seeking to stop Channel crossings of migrants has resulted in a rise in asylum seekers crossing Ireland's border from Northern Ireland.

"Anything that the UK does in relation to migration or border controls impacts on us. We have seen an increase in the number of people seeking international protection, who have come across the border from north to south, rather than through our ports or airports," Varadkar said this week while visiting Washington D.C.

Also, Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman recently said that the government is becoming desperate in its attempts to house both Ukrainian and other migrants seeking shelter in Ireland.

Speaking before the Dail on March 8, O'Gorman said Ireland is now accommodating some 76,000 people.

Government figures released later in February reported that some 51,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war were being housed by the State. Remaining migrants had arrived from other countries.

However, an additional 23,000 Ukrainian refugees have found their own housing.

"It is a regular dialogue. We are on a red list of countries at the EU level that have identified capacity issues. We are recognized as being under capacity constraints," said Kevin McCarthy, secretary general of Ireland's Department of Integration, as quoted by Extra.ie.

Additionally, an EU spokesperson has noted that only a "small number of countries' that have informed the EU that they are 'experiencing difficulties with capacity of short-term emergency accommodation," according to Extra.ie.

Ireland's Department of Integration said it has obtained housing for another 4,000 migrants since last September by taking over 55 accommodation centers.

Ireland's government has also been advised that by the end of 2023, the total number of migrants seeking housing in Ireland could rise to 180,000, according to briefing material for Government Chief Whip Hildegarde Naughton.