Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Until very recently, Ukrainians lived normal lives, but that changed abruptly when Russia invaded. Ukrainians are also experiencing agonising feelings of injustice and unfairness as their hard-earned democracy and freedom have been ripped away. The people arriving on our shores have had their whole lives turned upside down. People have had to leave behind their homes, their jobs, their schools, their friends and basically everything they know. Most heartbreaking of all is the separation of families - fathers and brothers who had to remain in Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion and elderly relations who may not have wanted to or were unable to make the uncertain journey. These people are leaving a war-torn situation. This is an especially traumatic experience for anyone to endure.

Abundant research shows that such difficult experiences can lead to severe consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. PTSD symptoms include terrifying and realistic flashbacks of war scenes, intrusive memories of the trauma, panic, inability to sleep and nightmares as well as avoidance of anything that resembles any sort of trauma. Children are specifically vulnerable. We can only imagine the terror children face in a dark basement watching the faces of their parents, praying that the next missile will not hit their building. Parents can shield their children to some extent from this trauma but they can only do so much.

When people arrive in this State, we can very quickly identify physical health needs, but identifying the psychological needs is not so straightforward. Trauma does not always manifest itself immediately but can come to the fore months and sometimes even years after traumatic events that people have had to endure. It is incumbent on the Government to plan for the dramatic effects of war and displacement. The Government must plan to provide mental health services in a culturally appropriate manner and to consider language and other factors. We do not know how long these people will be here. Looking at the structural damage to their homeland, many may not get the opportunity to return home. Therefore, we must do everything humanly possible to help them integrate into Irish society.

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