Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this discussion and I thank the Minister for remaining in the Chamber. I am incredibly proud of the generous and warm welcome that the Irish people have demonstrated to those fleeing the horrific violence in Ukraine. The collective condemnation of this unacceptable Russian aggression and the heartfelt expression of solidarity with the people of Ukraine speak volumes about our citizens. I also acknowledge and commend the approach the Government has taken to date. It moved rapidly and progressively in this humanitarian crisis. It reacted in a very open manner and that has translated very much into a type of comfort for those who are coming to Ireland. They recognise that they are very welcome and that we will do what we can to support them.

However, the challenge of what we face is not lost on anybody. It is going to be very difficult. As the Minister said earlier, we have never experienced a crisis like this. It will involve everybody working together as a society and as a Parliament. This will be a collective effort on our part. I have spent a great deal of time over the last few weeks working at local level in Wicklow, where there has been a high intake of refugees, particularly in the north Wicklow area. Groups of volunteers are working across every level of our community. That is not just a Wicklow thing, but is replicated across the country. My comments today reflect the feedback I am getting from those volunteers and the people offering support.

I have already spoken to the Minister about some of the feedback I have been receiving, so what I want to convey is that this is not a criticism of the Government. As I said, the Government's response so far has been good. However, there are gaps and issues that have to be addressed. What is seen among the volunteers and the front-line staff is that many are burnt-out at this stage. Many are facing their own traumas and experiences for which they are not equipped. We need to be cognisant of that and acknowledge it. They are working into the early hours, as the Minister will have seen even within his Department and in other Departments. People are working from 8 a.m. until 3 a.m. trying to provide the necessary supports and, indeed, trying to juggle work and family life.

A group in Wicklow has come together to cook dinners for each other's families so that once they get home from work they can start to work with the refugees. This is an incredible level of commitment but it is not sustainable. At this point in time, the Government needs to provide and put in place more formal structures of support. The heavy reliance on volunteers and civil society was necessary in the first month and the first phase of this but we need to move on from it. There needs to be a more clearly co-ordinated and accountable response from the Government.

From what I have seen to date, what we are missing is a national structure and framework. We also need to have local structures in place and there needs to be communication between the two structures. Even when it comes to simple things such as who is in charge, initially I believed the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, was responsible for the whole-of-government response to this humanitarian crisis. The remit of Minister and the Department is accommodation. At this stage we need a Minister who has sole responsibility to drive this response, to bring all of the various Departments together and make sure we have a co-ordinated whole-of-government response and framework in place. We need a clear national framework that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Government in the areas of social protection, health, education, housing and justice. This should include guidance and standards, monitoring frameworks and audit procedures. I recognise this is not something we had ever envisaged would be required. I imagine that coming out of Covid people were quite hopeful for time to get working on the Departments' normal work. Unfortunately this crisis has happened. A clear framework is absolutely required.

There is a need for adherence to international standards for humanitarian responses, in particular adherence to the international agreed minimum standards for child protection in emergencies and the minimum standards for education in emergencies. We need a strategy to engage and co-ordinate between national and local levels and the non-governmental sector. Communication and guidance are fundamental to a successful local response in this regard. I get the sense from listening to the Ministers who have spoken in the debate that a huge amount is happening in each Department. In some instances it is happening in silos. It is not being communicated to a local level. The communication gaps need to be addressed.

There needs to be a clear plan to ensure services provided to refugees by the philanthropic community, churches, NGOs and individuals are subject to minimum standards to ensure child protection, data management and co-ordination with national systems. We are moving to Government services being accountable for upholding and protecting the rights it has guaranteed to Ukrainian refugees. We are in an emergency phase of the situation but this is where we need to go and I hope the Government can get the structures in place quickly. It is not just about the national structure; it is also about the local structures.

I welcome that community response teams are being put into each local authority. They were very successful during Covid. The communities responded well to them. The framework is in place and I hope it can be reactivated very quickly. There needs to be a standard or an overview of what is happening. I understand some authorities have re-established them and others have not. There is still a lack of clarity on what their functions are, how they will be rolled out and when they will be rolled out. I understand the Department will house a number of refugees in large accommodation centres. The provision of services to these people will be easier. It will be harder to target and assist those going into family homes. There needs to be consideration of how we can create linkages for people living with individuals throughout the country.

Something that has been made clear is that the requirements being placed on large provision centres seem to be primarily with regard to the provision of a bed and food. We should expand this and look beyond the bare essentials. How will people wash their clothes? How will they provide school lunches? Are there kitchen facilities? Is there a room in which the refugees can gather? Is there a social room where they can mingle or get English lessons? These are the types of services we should require of the accommodation providers if possible. Another issue raised with me is that hotels are providing very standard three meals a day. A baby might need non-solid foods and they do not eat according to our timeframes. These issues will be ironed out as we go along but I would like the Minister to be mindful of them when engaging with accommodation providers.

Education will be a key component of providing stability and support not only to the children and students coming in but to their mothers also. Knowing their children are happy in school will bring huge comfort to parents. Many schools have gone above and beyond to take in students to their classrooms and to their hearts. There needs to be guidance from the Department on enrolment policies. At present schools cannot go outside their enrolment policies to take in individuals. The Minister needs to give clear guidance that we are in an emergency situation and there should be provision to override schools' enrolment policy to enable them to take in students. It is not just a matter of finding a place for a student. Schools do not have English language supports. They do not have mental health supports. Ongoing resourcing will need to be provided.

I have spoken to the Minister previously with regard to health. It is critical that refugees coming in have access to GP care within the first 24 hours of arriving at a centre. Dehydration and a lack of prescription medication are proving very difficult for people. I have a huge amount more to say but I have run out of time. This is an issue on which we will have to work together and I hope we can do so. We also need to work quickly on it. I will keep in touch with the Minister on other aspects that come to light.

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