Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for her recognition of the work done by the staff across my Department. The point she made in terms of this story moving farther from the front page links in with the point Deputy Cairns made on other conflicts never even making the front page in the first place. The longer conflicts go on or the farther away they are geographically from us, the less prominent they become over time. That is something we have to address and adjust.

The point the Senator made about communication is important. I have been engaging with a number of the NGOs working in this sector. They are coming together in working with the Government in the context of their mirroring certain thematic areas. That is certainly a process I want to work on with them. They have been extremely supportive in all of this.

In terms of disabilities, and particularly children with disabilities, it is anecdotal for the most part, but we know there are children with intellectual disabilities in quite large-scale, almost institutional, accommodation in parts of Ukraine.

This was of significant concern to me in the early days. I have engaged with the Children's Rights Alliance, UNICEF and others and their view is that the large-scale movement of these children over long distances on planes to countries where even the language is unfamiliar is not the right approach.