John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to these statements on the Government's response to those fleeing Ukraine. I wish the Ceann Comhairle and Cathaoirleach of the Seanad well in their forthcoming address to the Ukrainian Parliament. I am aware that they will carry the best wishes and heartfelt concern of the Irish people to our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.

Having listened to other speakers, I believe it is interesting that there has not been a word of criticism of the Government's approach in response to the Ukrainian crisis. The approach has been multifaceted. It has involved the Taoiseach, Ministers and the agencies mentioned by previous speakers, including the Irish Red Cross, which I imagine was overwhelmed at the very beginning, never having experienced the demands that exist or anything like the challenges it now faces. It is slowly managing to get around to processing the offers of accommodation by the public. There are also the volunteer groups and the ordinary, decent people. We read in social and other media that if there is a call-out for food, clothing, bedclothes or other products needed in a specific locality or by individuals, the response is overwhelming, quick, warm and empathic. The response has not just been by individuals and NGOs, however. In my constituency, large corporations have very quietly donated significant sums to ensure a budget to secure supplies of whatever goods are needed. The budget is not finite and I believe the offers are open.

I can think of a couple of individuals in my constituency who have been part of the response. Mick Kennedy of Knocklyon United FC is a big advocate and proponent of sport for all, including children with special needs. Ukrainians had been arriving for only two days when Mr. Kennedy had thrown open the club and made it, its teams and coaches available to any Ukrainian boy or girl who wanted to join a soccer club and play sport. That generosity of spirit is characteristic of people's response. It has been replicated in my constituency by clubs such as Tallaght Town AFC and others. I recently saw a call-out from South Dublin County Sports Partnership, which was looking for mentors, coaches, experts, clubs or teams willing to assist with accommodating Ukrainian teenagers. Another club, St. Jude's, also in my constituency, so happened to have been one of the first to respond. Overall, the response was overwhelming, swift and all-embracing, reflecting all kinds of sports codes within Dublin South-West. This kind of response has featured nationwide.

There are a couple of points I want to make in particular. The Government made a big ask of chief executives of local authorities around the country to co-ordinate the volunteer response. I want to pay special attention and tribute to South Dublin County Volunteer Centre, which is in my constituency. The centre came to my attention initially because its volunteers have manned and womanned the vaccination centres since vaccinations began at the convention centre in Citywest. The centre has supplied the volunteers from around Dublin South-West constituency and outside it on a 12- and 18-hour basis. There were different shifts, with people in high-vis jackets making sure people were carefully and gently marshalled into position. When the call came from the chief executive of South Dublin County Council stating the Government had asked volunteer groups, which in south Dublin included South Dublin County Volunteer Centre, to respond in any way they could to the Ukrainian refugee situation, they answered it. Through a family member, I became interested and signed up. I have completed only a fraction of the number of shifts that many of the volunteers have completed. I have done only two to date. They tend to be six hours long. I am happy I applied to do them. There is no point in my saying it is fulfilling but it has just been very interesting to watch coaches, sometimes with as few as five people and sometimes with as many as 20 or 30, arriving around the clock, including as late as 3, 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. The centre is manned by volunteers and also officials from the Department of Social Protection, who are present on a 24-hour basis ensuring that when accommodation is offered, the wait is not lengthy and people are dispatched around the country speedily and efficiently.

Some of the people who have come from Ukraine have driven. You can see in Citywest car park, which was built for different things, the odd car with a Ukrainian registration plate. The following story, whose events I did not witness, was told to me by a volunteer. It is about the arrival here of a family with a very young daughter who was still in her school uniform.

Their town, it seemed, had been reasonably safe at a particular time on a particular day, and then clearly came under threat. She was collected by her parents from her school while in her school uniform and they drove across central and western Europe and arrived in Dublin, with their daughter still in her school uniform. That is the kind of story that brings home to us the horrors of war.

I met a beautiful man, Jacob. He left Palestine many years ago to escape the horrors of conflict. He found himself in Ukraine and fell in love with a Ukrainian woman. He now finds himself in Dublin as a result of the horrors of conflict in Ukraine. He came from Mariupol. All of the volunteers and the Government will be familiar with all of these stories, but these are the narratives we have to keep hold of. There are human stories at the end of each of the forms filled out by Ukrainian refugees. Jacob has no idea about the fate of his parents he left behind.

Again, it is striking that when the coaches arrive there are many young girls, babies, women, mothers and sisters, yet so few men. They are emphatically warmly welcomed. Citywest is a temporary rest centre and is manna from heaven and a real refuge when people arrive. There are mattresses and clean sheets and duvets, which are changed every day. The place is looked after very well. The food offering could be a little better and was designed initially with the intention and on the understanding that when refugees arrived they would spend just 24 hours or less there. Some have had to spend a little longer, sometimes because of waits for accommodation. Thankfully, they have been few. They may be waiting for an accompanying relative to arrive a day or two days later or, indeed, a pet. There are only so many hotdogs and packed sandwiches one can eat.

I pay tribute to the coach drivers, who have traversed different parts of the country in good humour while showing the best of Irishness to people who have been forced to come to our shores through no fault of their own. I also pay tribute to the people who man, a 24-hour basis, the food truck, as well as the staff of Citywest and security people. There is teamwork and camaraderie there. I acknowledge the social protection staff who process the forms and the staff and passport personnel in Dublin Airport.

Yesterday, I told the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, of an issue that I would like the Minister to note. People are processed really well and the system is impressive. When people arrive in Citywest they are given a mobile phone and complete paperwork. They are given a social security number if they arrive in Dublin Airport or Rosslare. However, for people who arrive in Dublin Port - not many do - it does not seem to have the ability to process refugees there in the manner in which they are processed in Dublin Airport. People are sent to Citywest and sent back to Dublin Airport to be processed. They then have to go back to Citywest again. Perhaps the Minister could address that.

This has been an opportunity for volunteers to come to the rescue of the State. They are doing unpaid work. The Citywest venue is manned 24 hours a day, and has been since refugees began to arrive there. Volunteers have created a database that they circulate to other volunteer centres in other counties to let them know a certain number of refugees are coming their way and are being dispatched. I do not think the Government is organising that; it is being organised on a voluntary basis.

On the wider question on issues like accommodation and so on, we have to be creative and innovative. There may be a possibility of accommodation in some of our ports, not at sea but on the water. We can now accept that as a result of visits to Ukraine by people like my colleagues, Billy Kelleher, MEP, and Senator Timmy Dooley, that there are towns and villages which have been razed to the ground but do not make it to the news. The damage inflicted that we have seen on television is almost beyond belief. We now know that if the war ended on 6 May, in many cases there is simply nowhere for these people and their families to return to.

Therefore, the generosity of spirit that Irish people have shown will have to be extended a little longer. Jacob, who originated in Palestine, is a barber and also has a masters degree in technology, but had not practised that particular skill in a long time. He was offered a job soon after he arrived here. Many people are willing and able to work. Many others have different specific needs. Clearly, their mental health and well-being, as well as overall health, ought to be a priority. Many will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Many are still clearly in deep shock. The common attribute and human demeanour they display is, more than anything else, one of absolute resilience, gratitude and warmth towards the people who are receiving them.

I want to pay tribute to the people in my community, who are reflective of people throughout the island, for their generosity of spirit and heart. They show empathy in the knowledge that what we have witnessed is horrific and no one leaves their homeland for another far-off strange place by choice. All any refugees want to do is to return to a safe and peaceful place in a timely manner. Irish people will continue to respond to whatever demands and challenges come before them. It is beginning to seep into the national consciousness that this is going to be a little bit more of a marathon than a sprint in terms of the demands that will be made of us as a people.

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