Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

What I understand from the answer is that we are talking about a default position where we fold these children into the general school population. If that is the considered position we arrive at with the best expert evidence, that is fine. I would be happy to support that. However, we have to acknowledge the huge additional pressures that would place on schoolteachers, staff and principals in particular. It is something we need to consider. The Minister of State did reference that it is presumed we will have educational professionals who will arrive from Ukraine. It is important to identify those and use them as quickly as possible.

I have concerns. I have taught children with very little English. These children will be deeply traumatised by their circumstances. It is very difficult to reach them when you do not have a shared language, particularly if you are in a class of 25 or 30, as so many of our teachers often are. If that is where we are landing, then let us plan around that and support it. I am concerned the scale and numbers of children arriving will make that difficult and will place huge pressure, even on the built environment.

We should be engaging the NCCA. We have experts on curricular reform and planning. We should engage that expertise. I have written to the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and asked it to suspend its work programme to dedicate some time to this to hear from best international evidence and to hear how best we can support these children. It would be a really good use of our time. There is a lot of expertise on that committee and we should use it to support the Government action as much as possible. We should think deeply about whether our response of folding them into the general school environment is best for the children themselves and also the staff who have to deliver.

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