Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As of yesterday, there were 3,459 Ukrainian refugees in County Clare. This represents approximately 3% of our county's entire population. In the early days, when refugees arrived in places like Doolin and Lisdoonvarna, they were given personal public service, PPS, numbers and staff from Intreo services and the Department of Social Protection came out to assess their skill sets, language skills and so on. This resulted in some getting into employment but there are many more who are hungry to work in Ireland. I met some of them yesterday. To give an example, we have several Ukrainian dentists in County Clare. Their qualifications do not align with Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, requirements so they cannot practice. It is the same with some nurses and doctors. We have a labour shortage in Clare, although it is hard to believe. I know of one butcher who had to apply for a work permit for a South African guy to come to work in his shop. There is more that can be done to activate these workers. I ask that, through this committee, the Taoiseach engage with Intreo and those providing accelerated training in reading and literacy skills to these Ukrainians to activate that labour force. They are hungry to work and contribute.

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