Ms Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze:

Ireland has been exemplary in welcoming Ukrainians and that even though Ireland has housing issues and shortages, it has been doing an incredible job. I cannot think of anything additional that can be provided to our citizens. The only thing that I would pay attention to is education, and I believe that should come from the Ukrainian ministry of education. We appreciate the possibility for children to attend school here but we must all ensure, maybe at EU level and then international level, that Ukrainian children while they remain abroad receive lessons on Ukrainian history and in their own language.

Maybe they could be provided online from the schools in Ukraine. Additionally, among the Ukrainian refugees in countries that have accepted a high number, there may be teachers who could teach the lessons. Maybe that could be arranged on the spot. One of the issues we face right now is discussing how to approach this systemically and as soon as possible if the conflict is to go on. This is to ensure the children do not lose the understanding of who they are while they are away and waiting for the possibility to go home.

I do not know much about the operations in Ukraine of the Irish Red Cross specifically. Maybe the ambassador would be better equipped to address this issue. I will tell members about the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, an international organisation. We have been discouraged by its low efficiency and ability to open up the work on the ground in Ukraine, in addition to its unexpectedly low level of performance. I am not talking about the national Red Cross but the ICRC. Initially, UN agencies were basically not present on the ground in Ukraine. I thought it was totally disturbing in respect of any understanding of the efficiency of those institutions and considering all the money going to the region. In Moldova, where members’ colleagues have been visiting, families receiving refugees are supposed to get compensation through UN agencies. Only 2,000 families have been dealt with. There are 95,000 refugees there. The organisations are claiming they do not have enough personnel or staff and so on but are sitting on huge loads of money that would have made a difference for those in need.