Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy asked about the engagements we have had on behalf of Ukrainian students and I can confirm that initiatives are under way with the Ukrainian ministry, the EU and UNESCO. We are also looking at what is happening in other jurisdictions. We already have considerable experience ourselves of dealing with students coming from different educational backgrounds and systems, albeit not at the level we are dealing with at present. We do have our own unique experience in that respect.

We are co-ordinating with the Ukrainian authorities to provide online access for students who wish to avail of schooling in Ukrainian. Many of them wish to engage in the Irish education system as well. We have, at this point, more than 1,000 students who have availed of the online facilities and I want to acknowledge that our schools have made that possible. There is also the role of our inspectorate who work with the schools on the ground to ensure that the students are placed in the level that is appropriate to their needs. Equally, we have put huge resources into supporting students whose level of access in terms of language might not be what is required. More than 900 schools have been granted additional posts or additional hours, including English as an Additional Language, EAL, tutors, support teachers, and English to Speakers of Other Languages, ESOL, tutors. We also have the Say Yes to Languages programme at primary level where students would make themselves available to learn Ukrainian as a measure to integrate the students.