Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

When new accommodation is opened for Ukrainians or international protection applicants, the community engagement team, through my Department, engages with local representatives and statutory services. The Deputy mentioned education. When the war in Ukraine broke out, the Department of Education created regional education and language teams, REALT, throughout all of the education and training boards. These teams allow for the identification of where there are places in primary and secondary schools and where there are pressures. This approach allows for better co-ordination for Ukrainians initially and, subsequently, for international protection applicants. It has been effective in ensuring that underutilised school places are utilised by Ukrainians or international protection applicants and, where there are pressures on schools, the Department of Education is engaged with on bringing forward new accommodation solutions in those schools. The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, has received significantly increased capital funding to make that happen.

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