Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is something that is hard for us to understand here in this country.

On the issue of racism and hatred, Senator Flynn spoke very vividly about the very real hatred her community and indeed she has experienced in her lifetime. There is within the dialogue and discourse over recent weeks a strand of genuine hatred against people because of their race, because of their ethnicity, because of their colour. That did not just arrive over the last number of weeks. It has been there in certain groups. The State has a duty to respond. I will set out what the State is doing. Next week we will be publishing the national action plan against racism. Senator Ward and I have discussed that already. It is a recognition that racism is endemic in our country and something that we have to fight across government and across the State. The national action plan is not a response to the current upsurge since the war in Ukraine. It is a recognition that racism was there, that Senator Flynn's community has been a victim of it, that people who are Irish but who have a different ethnicity have been victims of it. It is to look at that in a systemic way.

We also have to respond to the immediate situation that we face. Government has to be more proactive in terms of communication, explaining why someone would seek international protection, explaining the rights that an international protection applicant has, or a Ukrainian under the temporary protection directive, explaining what rights they do not have as well and explaining how there is not direct competition in terms of the housing market. That is being worked on at the moment. It will not be led by my Department. It will be led centrally through Government Information Services. That is correct because it has to be an all-of-government approach.

When we are opening new accommodation, be it for Ukrainians or international protection applicants, I know we have to do better in terms of providing information. It is only information, it is not a veto, it is not asking permission. We are working within our Department to do better in terms of our ability to provide that, again in a situation where we are doing so much more than we were expecting to do in January of last year.

Senator Chambers made some points about modular accommodation. These are homes designed to last for 60 years. They are really good-quality accommodation. They will be used by Ukrainians initially but I believe many of the modular homes will actually eventually end up as part of the local authority housing stock in the areas where they are located. They will be seen as a really valuable part of that. The pilot we have done in terms of modular homes may change people's minds and help them see modular as another part of our response to the housing crisis. I remember when I was first on the council in 2014 there was talk of modular or rapid-build as it was then and it was rejected. People said it was not an option as it was not good enough quality. I think that was a mistake. I am certainly convinced that we can provide really good-quality accommodation using modular and it can help speed up the delivery by local authorities and approved housing bodies of housing solutions for people on social housing lists right now.

I really appreciate Senators' time and engagement on these issues. I look forward to us all working collectively to address the needs of people from Ukraine within the international protection process and of course addressing the many significant needs that already existed in our country.