Mr. Liam O'Dwyer:

On the issues Deputy Stanton spoke about with respect to integration, the response in Ireland currently is phenomenal. It is coming from the ground up but, to be fair, it is being led from a Government side as well. A practical example of it is the Irish Red Cross pledging database which, to date, has received 21,000 pledges of accommodation. That is astonishing. During the time of the Syrian crisis, we received under 1,000 pledges. This is a huge outpouring of concern and empathy from Irish people. This is evident also in the amounts of money that has been donated in terms of cash and by people from all walks of life, including the business community, individuals and groups. That is really welcome.

In terms of the integration side, we are noticing that communities are coming together looking to bring refugees into their community. That is something we have not really witnessed at this level before. We have seen it with the community sponsorship programme to some degree, but this is at a different level. The communities want the refugees in their community and are already identifying education and work resources to enable the refugees to settle in the community. At the same time, given the number that have come to date, which is somewhere in the region of 9,500, clearly the emergency accommodation and reception centres are increasingly under pressure. For that reason, we need to be able to deliver on the pledges, particularly the vacant properties, and we are currently following up on those with the assistance of the Defence Forces and State agents. On top of that, there is the shared accommodation which, when the Syrian refugees came here, was hugely popular and successful. It was a wonderful way for the younger men in particular to integrate into Irish society. On this occasion, the Government has rightly taken the decision that given the number of women and children to be housed, child protection has to be upfront and dealt with, with all of the shared accommodation. We are starting to move on that in conjunction with the Garda National Vetting Bureau, which has committed to reducing to seven days from a much more extensive period the timeframe within which it will come back to us with Garda vetting.

Members will have seen the various other supports at the ports and airports. Besides the Red Cross, there are others there in welcome, transport and support roles. The use of the hub in Dublin Airport, the new hubs in the city centre and the other co-ordination that is happening in Rosslare, Dublin, Cork and Shannon are working quite well. It is good to see the State and our sector coming together to deliver for the Ukrainian people coming here. Our members are coming to us looking to know how they can support. They are supporting with direct intervention in terms of donations of cash and, mainly, vouchers to enable people to settle in.

It should be said that the manner in which the protection directive has been implemented in Ireland deserves great credit. It really does. It means that people are able to come here knowing that the system that is available to all of our citizens is open and accessible to them, which will enable settling and integration.