Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thanks, Minister. You are very good.

I next ask about Ukrainian enrolment and, to a lesser degree, international protection. Among international protection applicants there tend to be more adults but there are a huge amount of Ukrainian children coming in and schools have to be commended for welcoming them with open arms and looking after them superbly. It is wonderful how they are welcoming children but there is also an obvious benefit whereby schools can grow, maybe appoint a new teacher and expand.

One of the problems is the transience of the Ukrainian refugee population. I am thinking of one school in my constituency. Some families were moved to another accommodation centre and suddenly the enrolment at the school collapsed. Can there be flexibility for those schools? They have gone above and beyond to cater for these pupils and suddenly because the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, or some other department moves a family to the east coast of the country enrolment collapses and a teaching post goes with it. Normally, schools have to hold enrolment until 30 September and then can look at a new year of staffing provision. The school I am thinking of doubled its enrolment. Half of the children are local Irish children who grew up in the community, the other half are Ukrainian. Leeway should be given to schools that have gone the extra mile to allow them to hold staff or to allow for that kind of transience and fluctuation. There is a local refugee centre. Could more latitude be given to those kinds of schools so that they are not rigidly confined to the 30 September date?