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

I thank the Deputy. On the issue of childcare, Ukrainian children are entitled to access the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, which provides two years of free preschool. Obviously, the number of places available in that scheme varies in different parts of the country. In areas where there is pressure on ECCE services, we work with the city and country childcare committees to identify what supply is available. We encountered a legal problem in allowing Ukrainians access to the national childcare scheme, NCS, which, as the Deputy will know, provides financial support for accessing childcare. That problem will be addressed in forthcoming legislation. The Department of Justice is preparing an omnibus Bill to deal with a number of issues in respect of Ukraine. The recognition payment I spoke about earlier will also be covered in that particular Bill. We hope to have that issue dealt with soon in the coming weeks and that there will then be access to the NCS.

With regard to supports for children, I take on board the points the Deputy is making. Tusla has compiled a list of 116 community contact centres across the country. These are local family support services. They are either services provided directly by Tusla or Tusla-funded services. They are available to support Ukrainian families in that particular area. That is available.

With regard to how we decide who goes where, I will be honest; a lot of depends on the accommodation available that day. I would like to give the Deputy an answer that shows more organisation but that is the reality of the situation. That is often a key factor in determining where people are allocated initial accommodation.