Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 31 May 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: Discussion

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador and acknowledge her words in respect of the support communities are providing across the country. People are working hard and there is a lot going on in my area. Hubs have been set up where people from Ukraine can collect clothes and other essentials they may not be in a position to purchase. These were donated by local people and volunteers man these particular hubs. They have proved to be very effective.

I am aware of some Ukrainians who have taken jobs here.

The fact we have Ukrainian children in schools has meant schools can retain teachers, especially in some rural areas where numbers were falling.

I have a question for the ambassador. Ukraine is a huge country and there is awful, vicious fighting going on and terrible atrocities in the east and in the south. We condemn them out of hand. Could the ambassador tell us what the situation is in the centre and in the west of the country? I know some Ukrainian people are considering returning to the centre and to the west around Lviv and cities like that. Is it safe for them to do so? What would the ambassador's advice be to people who have come here but are not sure as to whether it is safe to return? It is mainly women and children who have come here. Their husbands, parents and grandparents are still back in Ukraine. Could the ambassador give us some advice in respect of that? If people want to go back, how it would be done? What supports can the embassy provide and what can be done to assist people who want to go back to visit family for a temporary period and then return here?

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