George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I recently met a Ukrainian woman who qualified as a GP in Kyiv. She practised for seven years as a GP and six as an intern. She is now working as a healthcare assistant and doing a very fine job in a primary care centre in Wexford. Last week, I met a man working with a drain clearing company in Wexford. He fled the conflict in Ukraine, where, having qualified and worked as a surgeon, he was moving to specialise in neurosurgery. They belong to a WhatsApp group with some 315 other highly skilled healthcare professionals from Ukraine. Their route to working in their discipline in Ireland is long and cumbersome and we employ highly skilled healthcare workers from right across the globe. Is there any way we can expedite the entry of Ukrainian healthcare professionals who are highly-skilled into our health service, given that they are here through no fault of their own but are eager-----

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