Kilkenny TD - 'Residents and local communities are not being consulted'

Kilkenny Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness, has claimed government policy on providing accommodation for Ukrainians and those seeking international protection in Ireland is 'not working', adding, "some would say it is not fit for purpose and there are those who would describe it as a shambles and a disgrace."

Speaking in the Dáil during Leaders Questions on Tuesday, Deputy McGuinness, said: "Those who arrive here are not being accommodated. Residents and local communities are not being consulted. Business people involved in providing the accommodation are not being paid and their applications are not being processed in an efficient way.

"There are no answers forthcoming from the Department. In fact, the Department does not reply to Members of the Oireachtas in an efficient way. Public consultation is represented by a one-page email to local TDs who raise questions on the matter. Deputy McNamara wrote a fine article in one of the national papers recently. I believe we need to have a debate on this. What is the Taoiseach going to do to make the Department more efficient and more responsive to local communities?"

Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, defended the government's record on the matter to date, highlighting the levels of integration that have taken place.

"I respectfully disagree. In the past two years, 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war have come to our country. More than 70,000 of them have been accommodated by the State. There are some 14,000 Ukrainian children in our schools and between 15,000 and 16,000 Ukrainians working in our economy and contributing by paying tax and PRSI," Mr Varadkar said.

"I know it has not been a perfect response but when people look back in ten or 20 years on what we have done as a country, they will be proud of what we have done. That is not to say that it is perfect and yes, it can be improved," he added.

The Taoiseach concluded by stating his government will 'staff up' the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as a further measure to ease the integration process for people coming to live in Ireland.