Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 17 May 2022

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth

Ukrainian Crisis: Discussion

Photo of Jennifer Murnane O'ConnorJennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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That is good because that question has been asked several times. I am glad we got that clarified. I have one or two questions for the Minister's Department. Many of the children arriving are younger. Many of the parents, often mothers, tell us that they cannot look for work as they do not have childcare supports. As the Minister will know, I am very much involved with our own refugees in Carlow. What is the Department doing to make sure that childcare is provided for children arriving from Ukraine? There is also the matter of the language barrier. I know the Minister has been working on this issue. What additional supports does the Department have in place to help parents to support their children, recognising the awful experience that parents themselves have gone through and their own suffering?

I see it myself. Ukraine's Easter is different from our Easter. It is a week or two after ours. A few weeks back, we had a lovely party in Carlow. I am sure it is the same across the whole of Ireland but in Carlow, where I am working with the community, the social inclusion and community activation programme, Annette Fox and the local authority, the people have really stepped up to the mark. There was a party. One of the people had one of these bangers. It popped, which was our mistake, and you could actually see the fear in the women and the children. It was just one little incident but you could see the effect of it. That is why I was asking myself what supports there would be for these women and children. It is hard and we have to be very mindful of things like that. It has to affect them when their husbands, brothers and fathers are fighting a war. Perhaps the Minister could come back to me with something on that. Again, I will say that the work that is being done is really welcome.

I will ask another question. I was at another event recently. A bus load of people came to Carlow, which was fine. When Ukrainians arrive in Ireland, how is it decided who goes where or what happens from there? There seems to be a bit of confusion. I know in some places a bus can just arrive. Everyone works around it and it is not an issue because the communities and the Department work well but I do not know if there is proper communication to let people know how many are coming in every day or how many are going to a certain area. Does the Minister find that to be the case? Perhaps he could come back to me on that.