Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in the mammoth task he is co-ordinating on behalf of the Government and the State. There is no doubt the people of Ukraine continue to suffer under the tyrannical and dictatorial actions of Putin. The scenes keep going from bad to worse every day. We see them on our telephones and television screens and in the newspapers. It is shocking that almost 150 children have been killed and 57 schools and 12 hospitals have been bombed. The list goes on.

Last week, I spent a number of days at the Council of Europe, along with the Leas-Chathaoirleach, engaging with nine female parliamentarians from Ukraine. Seeing the pain and terror in their faces and listening to their experiences was incredible. One of the parliamentarians brought her two young daughters with her because there was nobody at home to mind them as their father, grandfather, uncles etc. were off fighting. As hard as it was to listen to these women, it was harder to say goodbye when they left on Wednesday to travel back overland to Ukraine. We did not know whether we would get a chance to see and speak to them again. They have been involved in setting up a group, Parliamentarians for Ukraine, which is spearheaded by a former Prime Minister of Lithuania. I joined the group's first call yesterday morning and I recommend that Members of the Seanad and Dáil sign up to it. It is important that we, as parliamentarians, look at what we can do even outside of the whole humanitarian element. As legislators, we need to put policies in place.

The outpouring of support from the Irish people continues. The humanity our people have shown is nothing short of phenomenal. Like Senator Conway, I have been liaising with Ukrainians and volunteers throughout my area of south Kildare. We really have managed to unite people in this effort. The crisis has brought communities together in a meaningful way but more needs to be done on the co-ordination of the community response. I have emailed the Minister with some suggestions in that regard. Throughout the country, we are seeing men and women, young and old, coming together and going to extraordinary lengths to support the Ukrainians. My friend, Angie Goff, who is in Dublin, has, together with Ireland for Ukraine, found homes for more than 100 families in private households. That effort began two days after the war started and she has done phenomenal work. We hope the people who have been housed can be absorbed into the Irish Red Cross effort. Ms Goff has had conversations with its secretary general, Liam O'Dywer, but there needs to be clarity around these issues.

In my housing estate in Newbridge, young children have been going door to door selling blue and yellow cupcakes to raise money for the Irish Red Cross. My neighbours, Freddie and Breda Reid, have already taken in a family of seven and I have registered to take people into my home. Local hospitality businesses have given their premises for volunteers to meet. Pharmacies have sourced badly needed medical supplies to send to Ukraine. Local schools have contributed. I mention Ardscoil na Tríonóide in Athy in particular because Stephen Prior, who is doing a transition year placement with me, goes to school there. He is the buddy of a Ukrainian boy of the same age. The school has set up a system to absorb the Ukrainians into the community. Mary Lenihan and Peter Hussey have started organising language classes and social activities for those who are coming. Tomorrow, a convoy of people, including my sister-in-law, Siobhán, will set off for the Polish border to deliver necessary medical equipment and walkie-talkies before taking refugees home with them. I am in awe of the response of my community. I always have been a proud lilywhite but never more so than I am right now. The response by the public has been phenomenal, as has that of the State.

Colleagues and I have previously raised the actions of Ryanair in increasing the prices of flights. It is necessary again to call that company out in this regard.

I want to ask about the situation of the people with disabilities who come here. Will there be a cental co-ordinating agency to assist them? There are agencies that want to give that support. We need to have people stationed at the border of Ukraine to help people before they leave for Ireland. It is very important we have a presence there.

As I have outlined, there are some gaps in provision that need to be addressed, but I thank the Minister and his officials for the work they have done to date.