Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Dwyer and Mr. Carey for being here. We have all learned a lesson about the generosity of the Irish people and communities. The Irish never stop; they just keep giving. This has been hard. An issue I have seen involves Ukrainians who have come into the country spending a long time at the airport. I asked the Minister a moment ago if he had a list as to where or to which counties they might go. He said that he did not and that the Department has to put them on buses and send them wherever there are vacancies. As the Minister said, that is probably not as suitable as it should be, even though we have to make sure that they have accommodation and that they are in proper facilities. That needs to be addressed.

I wish to ask the witnesses about another area that is very important. We have seen through the Covid pandemic the HSE, the local authorities, the social inclusion and community activation programme, Carlow County Development Partnership and all the various groups, such as the Garda and so on, come together. How has that impacted on the Red Cross's work? I can only compliment it on the work it has done. This has not been easy. It has been almost a tsunami for the Red Cross in the sense that it has never dealt with so many people, I would say. Well done. It is important that we compliment the volunteers and also An Post in the context of its work. Everyone came together. The Red Cross depends on the local authorities and all the various agencies in its work. Mr. Carey said he feels there is a template there. In what way will that have an impact?

The language barrier is another issue. We have spoken about housing today, which is great, and the Chairman brought the matter up with the Minister earlier. The Ministers have decided on the €400 payment to people who would be in a position to take in families and so on. That is welcome. How do the witnesses think that will benefit people? What do they think it will be like? Will it be an incentive? There has been so much goodwill. The Minister also said people can host from one person to two people to three people or maybe two or three adults and two or three children. How do the witnesses feel it will work? When it comes to accommodation, I see this because I work with some community groups in my area of County Carlow. There are people buying more. There is so much food, clothes and so on being donated. Shops are being set up. How do the witnesses feel that will work in the long term? What is the witnesses' long-term vision for this? They have been involved in it for so long.

Kilkenny has a Red Cross branch; Carlow and other areas such as mine do not. Does Mr. Carey see that in the future we will need to set up Red Cross branches in other areas? What does he see as the best practice in that regard? Things have happened so quickly. There are issues and concerns we still need to look at.

I wish to pick up on a point Mr. O'Dwyer made. Of the total number of pledges of accommodation, 35% are with the Department. Mr. O'Dwyer might explain that and how it works. Is he concerned that the number of pledges withdrawn amounts to 22%? While everybody is doing so much good work, sometimes I think there is a little confusion in communities. Maybe we need to look at that. What people are asking is whether this will be for months or whatever. No one can tell them. That is something we need to address. Overall, we should communicate with the public and the communities in the work done by the likes of the Red Cross and all the other agencies. Ireland has really played its part. Again, well done.

I hope the witnesses got some questions out of that. There were about ten altogether.