Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
42. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps his Department has taken to provide information to communities which are accommodating Ukrainian and other refugees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48439/23]
View answerIreland's response to the influx of individuals from Ukraine and other conflict-ridden regions has been remarkably commendable. It showcases our deep-rooted dedication to humanitarian principles and a willingness to offer a safe and very welcoming haven for those who are in dire straits. Central to this is robust collaboration and communication among all involved. What steps has the Minister taken to improve information sharing among communities?
The Department is currently dealing with the unprecedented challenge of accommodating people fleeing war in Ukraine and seeking international protection in Ireland from countries across the world. Our communities and neighbourhoods have responded with a generosity of spirit, as Deputy Dillon has said, in keeping with both our international reputation and our obligation to recognise the human plight and trauma people are experiencing and their right to seek protection and help from the international community.
The provision of access to accommodation, health, education, income and other supports, as appropriate, to people seeking protection is a whole-of-Government response. A range of Departments, agencies, service providers, and local authorities are involved in the accommodation, resettlement, and integration process. Given the scale and urgency of the operation to secure accommodation for unplanned new arrivals, to manage and process them appropriately, and to transfer and settle them into homes and communities, there has been a requirement to act at pace, with developments often happening at short notice.
The Department has been working across Government and with local government to develop a more coherent model of engagement with communities in advance of the opening of accommodation centres and to help strengthen and support inclusion and community development. I am glad to say that a community engagement team has been established to engage directly with elected representatives, relevant local authorities, local development companies, and other groups and individuals where relevant and appropriate. The purpose of the team is to improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into areas, to help equip local communities with the accurate information required to help them understand the current situation, and to assist with the welcome and integration process for new arrivals. The team has been in place for a number of weeks now and we will continue to review processes and improve systems of communication as we progress with this important work.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is good to hear about the establishment of the community engagement team, which is central. For many communities, it is really all about transparency and co-operation, especially across Government bodies, non-governmental organisations, NGOs, community collectives and volunteer organisations. That is really important and is fundamental in the context of providing ongoing supports for refugees to ensure they are integrated effectively. Given the evident pressures on our own critical services, be it housing, education, health care, or social supports, we need to bring other State agencies into play in relation to this. What gets thrown back at Deputies and other public representatives are issues like the capacity within primary care centres, accident and emergency departments and other auxiliary services like GPs and other health care services. We must look at the broader picture in terms of how we actually house refugees in areas that may not have the services required available.
I want to acknowledge the co-operation of local authorities, local development companies, Deputies and Senators of these Houses and local councillors who have helped us to bring communities on board. It is a function of the community engagement team to do exactly what Deputy Dillon has described, namely, to talk to the relevant Government Departments. We have contact points in all of the relevant Departments. Another part of the structure that we are growing into, as part of the new community engagement team, is the community response fora. It is a function of these fora to gather the issues that are coming up on the ground, not just for Ukrainians but also for international protection applicants, and feed that up through the council as well. It is a new team, a new structure and a new way of doing things but we have a lot to build on. There is a lot of work going on in the background in terms of developing relationships with key stakeholders and, as Deputy Dillon mentioned, with central Government Departments as well.
I commend the Minister of State on his efforts within his Department. It is not an easy task in terms of liaising with all of the different local authorities. Previously, when we did engage with local authorities, there was a commitment around additional resources. What is the status of the current competition within local authorities? Have many local authorities completed their full allocation of resources to compliment their community engagement teams?
Through thoughtful planning and the allocation of adequate resources, we can do wonderful things to integrate displaced people into our communities. They offer a lot and I would ask that we would provide additional supports to equip communities who want to help but who are not being given the necessary information. Some local authorities are better than others. Let us be honest in our assessment of that and benchmark those that have good processes and systems in place.
This is a timely opportunity to mention the fact that the Department has allocated additional resources to every local authority to recruit local authority integration teams. They are all at different stages of the recruitment process.
Some have finished while others are yet to start. It will lead to up to four additional staff per local authority to assist and grow into this new place. It is a new area to grow into for some local authorities. I am glad to say the Department of Rural and Community Development, at which I also serve as Minister of State, secured additional money under the social inclusion and community activation programme and again secured into next year the additional €10 million we got last year to assist us with Ukrainian arrivals. Our volunteer centres are getting that ongoing support as well. There are many growing parts and developing areas and our community engagement team is well aware of fitting into those resources.
