Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I request a debate with the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys. We have not had a debate for quite some time about rural affairs and the schemes available for communities. One scheme in particular is popular at the moment. I refer to the community recognition fund, which was set up to support communities that have gone above and beyond in welcoming Ukrainian citizens into their communities. County Tipperary was quite successful, and has received just under €1 million for communities across the county. There has been a positive uptake. More than 70 applications have been put forward to Tipperary County Council, which has recommended a list to the Minister. The task is to get that money out from the Department to those communities. When we talk about supporting communities that have gone above and beyond, there are two in County Tipperary that particularly need to be recognised. Fethard was one of the first towns or villages across the country to take in Ukrainian citizens. It transformed an old convent into a facility that was able to take 50 Ukrainian citizens. It has been hugely successful at integrating them into the community over the past year. There is also the small village of Dundrum, outside Cashel. Some of the houses in Dundrum House Hotel have been transformed and more than 200 Ukrainian citizens have been taken in. It is hoped that it will be possible to take in a few more. The population of the village has almost doubled. The community council, the GAA club and others have made applications under the community recognition fund. I hope the Minister will prioritise the villages of Dundrum and Fethard. There are about 1,000 Ukrainians in County Tipperary at the moment. More than 200 of them are in Dundrum, with the expectation of more to come. That means one quarter of the Ukrainian people in the county will be in Dundrum. I ask that they be prioritised by the Minister.