Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a war-time situation and we need to get into that mindset to make the kind of contribution that Ireland wants to make to these efforts. So far, considerably more than 2 million people have come across the border from Ukraine into the EU, primarily into Poland, but also into Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, all of which border Ukraine. Of course, Moldova is under major pressure as well. That number is likely to continue increasing.

If this war continues, we could see somewhere between 4 million and 6 million refugees coming out of Ukraine into the European Union. Ireland wants to, and will, ensure we are part of those efforts in terms of accommodating Europeans who are fleeing war. That potentially means tens of thousands of people coming to Ireland at a time when we have many pressures of our own in terms of housing need and so on. I believe we are up for that. We are already putting in place solutions that can ensure that people are safe and welcome here.

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