Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the chance to speak in this debate. Everybody is very mindful of the situation facing people in Ukraine We are all thinking of those who are facing that situation today, including those who are fleeing and those who are trapped without the choice or chance to get out of the country. Like Deputy Ó Broin, I want to acknowledge the work that has been done to date, particularly by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and his Department. As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, I sometimes feel like everything falls to that Department. This was an added difficulty nobody foresaw and, in fairness, he and his staff have dealt with it extremely well to date. They should be commended on that.

I also acknowledge the great work done in counties Carlow and Kilkenny, in my constituency, where people in communities really have rowed in, whether through collections or by providing accommodation or other services. They are trying their very best to ensure people, particularly children, are integrated and involved in community activities. This discussion is about housing but I was in Wicklow last Friday where I visited a number of early years facilities that are making provision for Ukrainian children. I was told they children have integrated totally, which is fantastic and very welcome. I take this opportunity to raise a point made by those service providers. There are Ukrainian women who have come to Ireland who are qualified in early years care and would like the chance to work in the sector, in which there is a severe staffing shortage. Where people want the opportunity to work, it would be fantastic to facilitate it. I gave a commitment to raise the issue with the Minister. One of the points the service providers made is that there is a major difficulty with Garda vetting. Of course, nobody is saying that people do not need to be vetted.

However, if anything could be done to speed up that process or to help people to access those jobs while services are crying out for staff and there are people who would really like to work, it would make perfect sense. I wanted to take the opportunity to say that.

I also wish to make a point, which Deputy Ó Broin also made, about employment. I have seen a few unfortunate cases in my constituency, mainly affecting people who are part-time or students doing weekend and summer work. Still, that work was invaluable to them. They have been told there is no longer work for them because of the situation. Maybe weddings and various other events in hotels have been cancelled. Perhaps that could be considered as well.

The other point I wish to raise - it is a difficult one, and it is hard to know exactly how we can police this - is that there have been some incidents of people being taken advantage of. When we speak about this issue it is really important we all plead with people to go through the proper channels. While I know there can be goodwill in WhatsApp and Facebook groups, I have been horrified by some of the stuff I have seen. I encourage people to go through the proper channels, that is, the Red Cross and various other channels. I know there are many people with goodwill and most people are very well intentioned, but we always see people who will exploit these situations. I encourage people to make sure they go through the proper channels in order that everything is vetted and above board.

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