Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was very grateful to have an opportunity to meet those people in Clonmel. The sincerity of their feelings was very clear to me and I fully accept their bona fides.

A pause needs to be placed by the Department on the situation regarding Ukrainian accommodation. I made this very clear. What I mean is the idea of uprooting children in the middle of the school year is not acceptable. Second, the idea of their having a conversation about the conversion of the Ukrainian facilities into IPAS facilities without having a discussion with the Government is not acceptable. We need to be humane to children and parents during the school year who have fled a war and who have been welcomed into our communities. That is the approach we need to take and I will articulate that at the highest levels in Government.

See this speech in context