Ms Meg Ryan:

Regarding the impact of the large volume of students, let us just speak about the range of Ukrainians who have been placed in Dublin where there is already a large volume of enrolments and a large number of schools that have substantial waiting lists for Irish students, with priority given to legacy students or students with other connections. Among my clients, I have parents who have approached multiple schools – sometimes upwards of 15 – seeking spaces for their children in secondary education but who have been told that they have to adapt within, that is, the children will either have to repeat a year or go into a year with a different age group that is inappropriate for them. My clients are experiencing significant issues with certain years, in particular first year. No provision is being made to adapt to this situation. There are children of this age who need to be placed in schools, but there are schools that are restricted in how many students they can have in a class.

Now that we are in the summer period, something could be introduced. For example, exceptions could be implemented that would allow schools to expand their class sizes to accommodate these children. The summer period is a time when actions should be put in place. It is a pause during which case workers, supporters and parents of Ukrainian children can get a chance to find appropriate school placements and a guarantee, which would remove the sense of insecurity for the parents and the children. The same applies to special education access. We are in a window in which the holes can be filled.