Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins. It is great to be talking about the measures that have been put in place to support students from Ukraine who are coming to Ireland. We are not just saying it; we are doing it. We can see this in every town and village in Ireland. The supports are in place and volunteers are helping out in all the centres.

There has been real accelerated change under the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. New technological universities are being rolled out into each region. That means education is accessible in most towns in every county across Ireland. That was commenced under the former Minister of State, Mary Mitchell O’Connor. There is also reform of the CAO. Students applying this year see further and higher education options along with apprenticeships. It is incredible that this is happening this year and it all follows the establishment of the brand new Department.

There also has been support for students and researchers through the Health Research Board, the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland. That has led to a trust in science, which ensured that we had such a high level of take-up of the vaccine. I cannot overestimate the work that has been done, particularly through schools over the past 20 years, with Science Foundation Ireland, SFI. That trust has passed through. Professors like Luke O’Neill and Kingston Mills, who speak to us regularly, have become household names. That is trust in our experts and in science that comes from the investment at primary, secondary and third levels.

Now we face the devastating war in Ukraine and the millions fleeing conflict. Last week, Roscommon was fortunate when the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee paid a visit. We were able to visit the Donamon Fáilte Centre outside of Roscommon town. The Divine Word Missionaries have provided the premises for use as a centre for people coming from Ukraine. They are working with Roscommon County Council and with Shannette Budhai from the Roscommon Volunteer Centre. Moreover, the Roscommon Lions Club has donated over €10,000 to the families based there. It is down to the volunteers and local authorities who have to fund these centres and support the people there.

I met young men and women, some of whom were medical students, and doctors, paediatricians, software engineers. I met young mothers with their babies who travelled thousands of miles to find sanctuary in County Roscommon and who left fathers behind. It is the incredible resilience and strength of these people that I so admire. We spoke through translators because access to language is a huge challenge. We must be able to understand one another.

A young man told us he would never forget what Ireland has done for them but I believe that it is we in Ireland who will be enriched by the people coming to our country for shelter. These people wish to contribute to our community, to work as soon as they are able, and to be able to say thank you by their actions, as well as their words.

We must also support students at primary, secondary and third level. We need English language supports in schools and at third level. This is something the Minister, Deputy Foley, has spoken about. I welcome the one-stop-shop for all third level universities which the Minister of State mentioned, which will be hosted by Maynooth University that is co-ordinated through the Irish Universities Association, IUA, and the Technological Higher Education Association, THEA. People will be funded there to support students. It will be sort of like a help desk. It is not admissions – I understand that – but hopefully there will be admissions personnel within the universities who will also work with us.

There is great demand in healthcare and there are many challenges in recruitment and retention. The deans of the medical schools are currently undertaking an assessment of the programmes in the medical schools in Ukraine. It is about how can they align Irish students’ programme with that which obtains in Ukraine, as well as a recognition of the medical and dentistry qualifications. That will enable and encourage us to facilitate students to continue their studies here.

Through the Government's recognition of people from Ukraine as citizens of Ireland under the EU International Protection Act, we recognise that they have the same access to work and education. This requires a whole-of-government response. We have already discussed recognising students from Ukraine and SUSI supports, which are increased by €200 this year. This means these students coming from Ukraine also will be able to access these supports. The eligible thresholds increased by €1,000 and the qualifying distance from universities and colleges has been reduced from 45 km to 30 km, which means more students and their families will benefit. It is crucial that these things will make a difference to the lives of people who will be here with us in Ireland. Then there is the cost of living fund and I note provision for the student assistance fund is more than €18.5 million for this year alone. There are student assistance desks for student welfare. When we were able to visit universities, we were able to talk to the student unions on the importance of this fund.

I have some questions for the Minister of State. There are colleges of education in many towns and villages. The ETBs support forums in each local authority. How are these county liaison committees and the education and training boards working with local authorities? Is the Department getting regular updates? I also have heard that English-language assistance measures are being put in place, perhaps with adult literacy tutors. Can the Minister of State speak about how that might be rolled out within the ETBs and the challenges that the tutors and trainers there might face?

The Minister of State mentioned how there are more than 25,000 people here with us now, of whom two thirds are female and one third are young people under 18 years of age. This is a whole-of-government approach. Will the Department work with other Departments, including the Department of Social Protection, to perhaps look at a version of the rural social scheme, RSS, a one-year scheme to encourage young women to get involved with flexible hours in the local community? They might also be able to work towards a qualification. We have discussed the recognition of qualifications, which Senator Malcolm Byrne also raised, and that is crucial.

Is the Department working with the Department of Transport on rural transport? How are these people going to get to school or college? I spoke earlier about the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. Will we have updates on that? How will we connect people who might be in centres outside urban areas to link in with our colleges?

Finally, I thank the Minister of State for his time. I have heard the requests around a national liaison person who would co-ordinate between all the different Departments. Can the Minister enlighten us on how the Department is receiving updates? I am aware that the Cabinet receives regular updates from Ukraine as well.