Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yet again, the Minister of State continues to be the only one who brings in the replies in a format I can read. I do appreciate it. I must always acknowledge this fact because she is the only one who has ever done it in my 13 years here in the House.

That reply is really what I would have expected from the Department of integration. Clearly, everything is made up on the hoof. What is done is done now in terms of the people from Kilbaha and Shannon. They have reoriented and recalibrated their lives and they are getting on with their lives. Some of them have found private accommodation in Shannon but others have not. At this stage, to reiterate what I said earlier, what we need is a county-by-county strategy. This is particularly the case in the context of Lisdoonvarna. It will be remembered that in 2022, when the war broke out, a few communities in the country gave the big céad míle fáilte to the Ukrainians and Lisdoonvarna was one of them. We still have more than 1,000 people seeking protection in the town, whether these are people here in the context of IPAS or from Ukraine.

That is all very well but the people in Lisdoonvarna, as well as the coffee shops and the tourist attractions throughout north County Clare that benefited from all those rooms being available for people coming on a transient basis, do not benefit now. They are very patient and understanding people but really and truly, having five or six units in a town is too much. We need to see a planned reduction. The people of Lisdoonvarna will absolutely take up their responsibilities and do what they can. Equally, however, we must have a balance. I think the Minister of State gets this point. Unfortunately, though, I do not think the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, gets it. If he did, he would be here today to respond to this Commencement matter query or he would answer my phone calls, which he does not do, or he would answer my emails, which he also does not do. Clearly, the Minister does not get it, but the Minister of State does.