Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

Good morning. I thank the committee for having me. I echo the points made by my fellow commissioner, Mr. Harris. We all know that disabled lives, be they children or adults, are easily devalued and disposed of and that this is exacerbated in a war or conflict situation. I want to acknowledge and extend the hand of friendship and solidarity, as well as support, to ethnic minority people, particularly the Roma and Africans, who are fleeing from the Ukraine and who, because of racism, may not be supported in fleeing to safety.

In 2015, the UN acknowledged that disabled people in Ukraine were in a very vulnerable situation in terms of institutional care. These are institutions where, often, people are abandoned and they experience malnutrition and a lack of appropriate care and support. In a war zone, institutions, be they psychiatric institutions or other forms of residential settings, are often easily forgotten, especially the people who live in these places, and, therefore, they are easily targeted by the enemy.

IHREC is very pleased that Ireland is welcoming Ukrainian people. It is important to add that there cannot be a hierarchy in terms of who we let in and do not. There are reports of people waiting months to get an application registered, with no access to temporary residence cards and service.

This is worrying in contrast to the State’s welcome response to people from Ukraine. I would also add that in all war and conflict situations women are used as sexual weapons because deaf and disabled women are more likely to go unnoticed. They are more likely not to acknowledge what happened and, therefore, not receive the appropriate care and attention. We would encourage that all services relating to violence and sexual assault in Ireland be cognisant of the fact that some people who are coming from Ukraine may need immediate access to these services. That is all I have to say for the moment.