Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion. I thank Senator Seery Kearney for proposing this motion and her very moving contribution. From the Government support and, I hope, the cross-party support in the Seanad and the rest of the Oireachtas, it is very clear that Ireland condemns the war in Ukraine. I very much want to pay tribute to President Zelenskiy and his country and Government for defending a democracy. I hope the peace talks will come to a resolution. They have to.

It falls to Ireland to support a country in crisis. As my colleague has said, the Government is acting on all fronts, which is excellent to see. As Fine Gael spokesperson on education, further and higher education, research, innovation and science, I confirm the Government’s commitment to access to education for people from Ukraine. Close to 15,000 people have now arrived in Ireland. One third of them are children and young people under 18. We expect to see 20,000 by the end of the month, which will be in another few days, and a rise to perhaps 40,000 by the end of next month, and then even more.

Towns across Ireland have come together to organise collections and make financial donations. It has been incredible. We have seen people really pulling together. What kept us strong during the lockdown is coming to the fore again, that is, the sense of community spirit and the empathy of Irish people. Generations before us knew what it was like to face this type of devastation and starvation. We know about it from our history. Forty percent of the buildings in Mariupol are destroyed. The people from there are fleeing devastation, death and starvation. They may never be able to return to Ukraine.

In speaking about this motion, I am speaking specifically about support for children at primary, post-primary and third levels. We have to ensure routine and normality for these children because these are so important. The children are leaving a war, so we need to ensure that we have supports in place to minimise disruption to their education when they arrive. We must also ensure that well-being and counselling supports are available. We must provide teachers with the resources to support the children during such trauma.

In towns across Ireland, there are major capacity issues. Primary schools are at their maximum enrolment levels. This story is replicated in certain areas in towns, making things very difficult. We need classrooms and prefabricated structures. The latter will be required in urgent circumstances. We need teaching supports and assistants teaching English as an additional language, EAL, in all our schools. We welcome the liaison groups that are to be set up through education and training boards across the country and call on the Department of Education to provide accelerated teaching supports and additional accommodation for primary and post-primary schools, using the national inventory of school capacity. That will be a great way for us to identify schools that have the capacity, and also support those that do not right now but that could, to ensure we can provide for Ukrainian children. It has to be co-ordinated through the education and training boards and county liaison committees. We must increase the number of posts, including those of national educational psychologists, in schools at primary and post-primary levels.

At third level, we must examine supports for students across a number of areas. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, under his Department, has highlighted the opportunity to use the Erasmus programme to fund scholarships at European level. We must also consider maintenance supports in addition to expanding the availability of English-language courses within our education and training boards. In Fine Gael, we are calling for the expansion of the Erasmus programme and the removal of financial and regulatory barriers for students and researchers who wish to continue with their studies. We are supporting adjustments to the SUSI programme to ensure Ukrainian students are supported to attend at third level. Again, we must see the expansion of courses in English for speakers of other languages, ESOL, in all our education and training boards, which are in every town across the country. This is something we can achieve. We need to ensure qualifications are recognised in Ireland and that people can start working as per the temporary protection directive.

During the pandemic, including the lockdowns, we saw a huge community call. I am sure the Minister of State witnessed this in his area, including GAA and other sports clubs. People pulled together. Again, we need to see a huge national volunteer effort. I am aware that the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, is working on this. So many are willing to help. Part of the objective of our motion is to mobilise and co-ordinate voluntary efforts at local level. The people of our country are working together and supporting Government initiatives to help families to build new lives in Ireland. These families may not be able to return to their beloved Ukraine in the interim. This is about helping them to restart and continue their lives in the aftermath of this tragedy, be that in education or in a work setting, and to achieve what they wish to achieve in the context of qualifications.

I thank Senators Seery Kearney and Cummins, all my colleagues in this House and in the Lower House and all our Government Ministers. This is a cross-departmental effort. I also thank communities in my region, because, like all my colleagues, I have seen volunteers coming forward. They have renovated school buildings and community centres, while families have also come forward to offer rooms to refugees in their homes. This is an incredible response. Let us help those out there pushing so hard right now.