Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is a large number of people to accommodate an incredibly short timeframe. We lose sight of this at times. Of course we are right to expect a Government response but this has only been in place since February and there has been an incredible influx of people. It is fair to say that structures created to deal with much smaller numbers of people were overwhelmed. The Minister acknowledged that Irish people have shown an incredible level of generosity and they absolutely have. We have opened our hearts and communities. Many people offered to open their doors. It is fair to say there was a level of frustration from people who pledged accommodation. Some were contacted repeatedly with the same questions and others were contacted and then left out in the cold. Is this something we need to look at? Is there more to be unlocked? Unfortunately the end of this crisis is not in sight just yet.

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