Ms Meg Ryan:

I will respond in reverse. I will speak of my experience and the clients I have interacted with. The system has been put in place in a way that has enabled them to find their feet, having streamlined options for things like medical card support that gives access to healthcare and social welfare, and immediate provision of a PPS number. These are barriers that we find hugely limiting for the other cohorts of refugees for whom we are working who do not have the same access. I understand this meeting is to focus on Ukrainian refugees in Ireland but we cannot ignore the fact that the system to support a Ukrainian refugee is set up in a way that has been streamlined, which is not the experience of people from Afghanistan or Syria who the Red Cross supports through active case work and community sponsorship. It is a very different system and process. We find that our clients from Ukraine are hitting the ground running because options are available, including around language with translation of documents and so on being available, and the willingness to help is there. That is an incredible thing and something the Irish people should be very proud of but it is an example of a model that could be adapted to support everyone. It shows that the system can work and that it can be expanded.

On the long-term question, I find the parents I engage with, once they are in accommodation and their children are in school, are looking for work. They want to actively contribute, settle in and have a normal life. While it is disruptive and the situation is very difficult and unique, the Ukrainian cohort that we work with are hitting the ground running and settling in at a good pace because of the supports that we can now bolster and strengthen. I cannot speak on the figures or numbers relating to support in Poland. The International Committee of the Red Cross provides shelter, medical care, food, hygiene products, water, clothes, and essential humanitarian support. I cannot speak about the volume that will filter through Europe.