Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the ambassador and her office for all the work they are doing. She has a huge and significant piece of work ahead of her in terms of the mechanics of supporting our new Ukrainian community who are settling here. There are huge mechanical issues around housing, health provision and education, which need to be dealt with in the short term. The issue I would like to put to the ambassador is probably more of a medium-to-long-term one but I want to flag it with her to see if there is anything we can work on moving forward. It will particularly impact on Ukrainian people who make their homes in Border communities. The ambassador may be aware that legislation has passed in the British Parliament requiring non-Irish and non-British citizens to avail of a travel visa if they want to travel into our Six Counties in the North because they are unfortunately entering a jurisdiction that has been taken out of the EU. Has the ambassador had any engagement with her counterpart in the UK or any engagement with the Executive in the North of Ireland to raise this issue in the medium and long term? We want people coming to Ireland to be able to enjoy and to avail of all of Ireland but, in particular, we want Ukrainian people who may settle in Border communities to live in the same way that their neighbours live. They may need to do their shopping in the North. They may need to send their kids to school in the North. I appreciate it is a very bespoke question. While it may not be the main issue facing the ambassador's community now, it could become an issue for a significant number of Ukrainian people as they settle in the medium and long term.

I appreciate the ambassador may not be across the detail of all of that just yet. It is perhaps something we can engage on going forward. I would like work to be done with colleagues in the North of Ireland and for the ambassador's colleague, the ambassador in London, to be aware of the impact this legislation could have on Ukrainian people coming to Ireland.