Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the excellent work of the REALTs on the ground. They have been invaluable to us. They are based in our education and training boards, ETBs, and have done tremendous work. They are a mirror of the excellent work that is taking place every day in our schools, which have been so flexible and resilient. As the Deputy noted, there are now more than 14,000 Ukrainian students in our schools, and I acknowledge that a huge proportion of them have been taken care of in County Clare and many other counties.

We have capacity in certain areas of the country. Some areas are at maximum capacity, while others still have capacity. We seek to engage with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth but it has specific challenges relating to accommodation. Its focus is on the accommodation side and that is a significant challenge for that Department.

As for our REALT co-ordinators, we will continue to feed in with them, as we do all the time, and there are regular engagements with the REALTs. I will highlight the issues the Deputy raised.