Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am, frankly, disappointed by the Tánaiste's response. He has listed figures and mentioned the Cabinet sub-committee but as he said himself this is an unprecedented challenge, due to the scale of it, and we are not seeing from the Government the sort of scaled-up response required. We in the Opposition who are seeking to show solidarity are often finding out about plans in communities after the far right does and we want to work with communities to show support. I engaged with protesters seeking information in my constituency but I did not have information to provide to them. We need to see a more co-ordinated response from Government, a centralised point of contact and clear evidence of the cross-departmental approach that will give the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the support it clearly needs.

The response I and others are getting to parliamentary questions is confirming the lack of support from other Government Departments for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We are seeing clear evidence of lack of capacity in IPAS to address this unprecedented challenge. We must ensure there are supports in place for communities. Communities are stepping up and showing incredible support and an incredible welcome but we need to see Government working with the Opposition. I welcome the cross-party committee that is being planned but we must see a stronger, Covid-style response from the Government at a centralised level to this.

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