Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank everyone for coming in. It is so important that we speak about what we can do to help. As previous speakers have said, the lack of communication with communities is a real issue. I am from the Carlow Kilkenny area and 14 years ago in Carlow, we had a programme under which 78 Rohingyan refugees came to the county from two different camps in Bangladesh. I saw the local community get together, including St. Catherine's Community Centre, the Carlow County Development Partnership, local schools and colleges as well as numerous volunteers and like what others have said, the community itself was so powerful.

That is where there seem to be enormous challenges. I am of the view that people mean well. There is a lack of information available. I am constantly contacting the office of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. I contact the office every day. The staff tell me that it is short-staffed. That is not right. This is an enormous issue that I will be highlighting further. In fairness to those staff members, they are doing their best. The Minister faces big challenges in his Department. The office is short-staffed, which is a concern. It is something that we, as politicians, need to address. I am worried about it.

Mr. Collins spoke about direct provision, a process which we must all ensure can continue. In terms of simple things that can happen quickly, one measure would be to extend child benefit to children living in the system and ensuring, where possible, that cooking facilities are available. Mr. Collins also spoke about HIQA. These are things we should be looking at doing now. These are unprecedented times. No one in government has seen such times in the past. Perhaps one or two agencies need to take the lead. Are too many agencies trying to come together? As our guests know, there are often difficulties when one sector tries to get through to another. Perhaps our guests will come back to me on that point.

There has been an increase in the number of people seeking international protection. I want to ask about supports in that regard. When the systems are fast-tracked, are there an adequate number of translators? That was an issue that was brought to my attention recently. What does assistance look like for those with disabilities? Is there adequate support for those with intellectual disabilities or those who are hearing or vision impaired? What is being done for people with disabilities? Those people are our most vulnerable. What can we do to help them further?

We all want to work together in order to ensure that we look after everyone. It is crucial that the message goes out that Ireland is a very good place. While we never thought this situation would arise, we are where we are and we must ensure we work together so everyone is looked after.