Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. I read through the Taoiseach's speech as it pertained to the topics covered by the European Council summit next week. Russia and Ukraine will of course be on the agenda, as will energy, the economy, security, defence and external relations. The Minister of State might clarify whether there will be a discussion on supporting the thousands of refugees to whom we should extend our warmest welcome. That the Taoiseach did not mention this was surprising. We cannot hide our heads under the counter where this issue is concerned and say that we cannot discuss it. We need to discuss it. This year, Ireland will take in 70,000 people seeking refuge from Ukraine and more than 12,000 applicants through the International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, system, and rightly so. These people are here seeking sanctuary from horrors that I cannot even imagine. All the while, we are placing them in buildings that are not suitable for that purpose, although we must we must use every resource available to us in the first instance.

We must discuss how the European Council and the EU more widely will support and demonstrate solidarity with member states. What extra supports can we access in providing for people's basic needs when they come to Ireland? Earlier, the House debated a motion on teacher shortages. These shortages would have been a problem at any time in the past decade, but are especially so now that we are taking in children who have arrived in Ireland after experiencing immense trauma. People need to access supports, and it is right and just that people who come here from Ukraine can begin working straight away, but what kind of childcare supports can they be provided with? If our EU partners are not demonstrating solidarity, what more pressing issue is there than the provision of sanctuary and all of the necessary resources? There were people in tents in Athlone who have just been moved out of them because of the cold, and abandoned ESB factories are being reopened. This is not even close to being good enough.

In the absence of effective communication and leadership, a group of far-right nefarious individuals are disseminating fear and tapping into people's genuine fears. We need to be able to combat this. We need to work across the political divide and share resources and information to counter this scary situation.

Yesterday, a group of residents in East Wall, an area that has experienced a high media profile in recent weeks, organised themselves to raise money to buy hats and scarves for people who came here through the international protection system. I have never witnessed a level of vitriol like this in my life. People trying to raise money to buy hats and scarves were being bombarded. I shared what happened on my Instagram account. I could not believe the responses. This was not from people whom I would cite as being bad, because people are inherently decent. They have, however, been manipulated and targeted through social media platforms, like Meta, where it is possible to tap into a genuine sense of fear and find it being said that these people are to blame for the wrongs of society. I would point at the Government in this regard, and it would point back.

This situation, though, is scary. All the while, what is playing into this is Putin using refugees as pawns in his game. If we are not discussing this matter, then what are we doing? The refugees are being used as a tool of war. It is being played out on social media channels and targeted at the living rooms of Irish people and, I am sure, the rest of Europe. We seem to be burying our heads in the sand about this happening. Can we get this matter onto the agenda? It should be part of our response. There is a need for resources and better information.

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