Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I said in my opening remarks, I concur that excellent work has been done, and continues to be done, by our schools. The Deputy clearly articulated the situation when he said they have come out of the challenges of the pandemic and moved into a new challenge. It has been my good fortune to have had the opportunity to visit many schools and see all of the work going on seamlessly and generously on the ground. I acknowledge that, as I did at the outset of the meeting.

I appreciate the point the Deputy has made about children settling in a school and families settling in an area only to be moved on. Even with the best will in the world, there are significant challenges relating to the availability of accommodation from the point of view of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This is an emergency. It is a remarkable achievement that 30,000 people who have arrived into the country in recent weeks are being accommodated with respect not only to accommodation but also in wider society, including our schools. There is unprecedented demand but all of society is stepping up in response. It means some accommodation is available on a more short-term basis than others. We are liaising clearly with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We know where we have more or less capacity. The priority of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is to provide accommodation first. That is its primary consideration. Up to this point, the Department of Education has been able to provide for education in areas in which the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has found accommodation. It is a challenge and there is no doubt about that but we liaise closely with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

The Deputy asked specifically about children with special educational needs and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, has articulated a response on that point. I will invite her to come in on that point but she has referenced the numbers involved and the fact that we are managing our way through that situation. The important point is that we must find a place to accommodate all children who require it within the school setting.

The Deputy also spoke about admission policies in schools. As I said to him earlier, we know we have capacity within our schools to meet the needs of the students as they arrive and we are doing that. We also know that our invocation of the capacity of schools in terms of their admission is in very limited circumstances. The important thing here is that every child has access to a place. That is what we are intending to achieve. I have also outlined to the Deputy that it is my intention to gather data to measure how that admissions policy is working, the impact it is having and the available opportunities, going forward. That notwithstanding, it is important to remember that we are talking about children and young people from Ukraine. We are currently meeting their needs and the schools on the ground, full credit to them, are providing the accommodation and places for them.