Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

I thank Deputy Cairns for highlighting how vital the human rights framework is to our response. For me it would be a person-centred response. When people are being assessed at the airport, I know the HSE has a question on impairment disability. Sometimes for all sorts of reasons, trauma included, some disabled people particularly mothers will not identify and will not say it because they feel nobody will take them or they will not be housed. There is a bit about being cognisant of identifiers in there. A GP should be able to carry out a kind of triage on individuals who are deemed to have an impairment or disability so that they can be assessed for mental health, speech and language, physiotherapy, and other needs.

I understand why people who are disabled would not be favoured. I caution strongly against putting people into institutions here in Ireland.

If we have learned anything from our own history, it is that these institutions develop bad and poor practice. They do not offer the individual attention that people need. They almost become warehouses. We need to be cautious. I understand that we have a housing crisis. It is very difficult to manage a humanitarian crisis when both crises are clashing against one another and when there is tension. However, I really would be mindful and aware of the dangers of putting people into large institutions and congregated settings.

I will also respond to Deputy Cairns’s questions. Again, it is another arm of human rights, which is around safe learning. Our system of assessment in the areas of disability is not equality proofed. It is not risk proof. I am aware of pitfalls and vulnerability of children and mothers around language, as well as around being able to say, “No” and being able to say if something bad happens to them, whether this was in Ukraine or here in Ireland. It is hard for anyone to bite the hand that feeds them. It is therefore up to us as a State to have all those sets of principles and language in place. If we are going to do anything for the humanitarian response, we must please do it right and learn from other models outside of our jurisdiction. Also, this should go back to the child-centred or person-centred context of deaf and disabled children and adults. Not every Ukrainian person, whether they are a child or a mother, will have the same needs. Therefore, we must be flexible in being aware of diversity. It is also about giving people time to draw their breath and not just hurrying people into services here, there and everywhere. We must work at a pace at which people are able to manage.