Paul Nicholas Gogarty: Protect Ukrainians' Hard-Won Stability

Minister, we took in the Ukrainians as part of a European-wide collective effort, and we might have been perceived as more generous than some countries precisely because of our military neutrality. We're not giving weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. So we did have to go above and beyond, and I think that's only right and fair. And a lot of the Ukrainians who have come here, they've settled. Some of them have got jobs, and I do take the point about means testing in terms of increased contributions within the confines of the ARP payment, for example. So if you had the original 800 euro and people had a job and they could contribute 200 of the 800, I think that makes a lot of sense. But I don't think cutting it sends out the right message. On the one hand, we're inviting President Zelensky to Ireland for the EU Presidency with all the pomp and ceremony, trying to keep the Ognish Illumina investigation to the sideline. And we're saying, yes, slav Ukraini, and then we're treating them basically like dirt. We have an obligation and responsibility to help people. So let's live up to that. And I think this particular piece of legislation isn't dealing with the particular circumstances. Ukraine are the first step. Next step, the Baltics. Next step, Poland. We have to show solidarity in that specific geographical context. There's also a separate issue I'd like to mention, Minister. In my constituency, where a lot of Ukrainians were staying at the City West location, a good proportion of these people with disabilities, and now they seem to be sent to the four corners of Ireland. Again, when you've got kids who've been going to local schools, people who've built up links with local communities, learnt the language, making a contribution. And I just want to read some excerpts from a letter written by the Ukrainians in City West. It said, many Ukrainian people in Ireland are now facing a new and deeply worrying stage. After fleeing war, rebuilding their lives from nothing, finding work, placing children in schools, accessing medical care, and becoming part of local communities, they're now being told that state-provided accommodation is changing. The issue is not simply about hotels or accommodation centres. It's about whether people who have already integrated into Irish society will be allowed to keep the stability they've worked so hard to build. Many Ukrainians are now underworking, paying taxes, studying, raising children, supporting family members with disabilities, using local services, and contributing to Irish society. For these families, forced relocation to another county is not just a change of address. It can mean losing access to work, schools, colleges, doctors, disability services, transport links, and community support. So they say we're not asking for indefinite hotel accommodation. We're asking for a fair, humane, disability-sensitive and employment-sensitive transition. They say the current approach risks causing disproportionate harm to working people, families with children, education, people with autism, PTSD, anxiety, disabilities, complex medical needs, and vulnerable adults already connected with local HSE and disability services. For a disability-related person, shared toilets, shared corridors, noisy communal spaces and high-density accommodation are not minor inconveniences, they're real barriers to basic daily life, like using the toilet, washing, eating, sleeping, leaving the room, attending appointments or going to work or college. So they're asking that any relocation decision must include an individual assessment of disability-related needs, employment, education, transport, medical care, and service continuity. You bring people in, you try and help them, and then you put them into a difficult situation. That's not the right way to go about it. You ask your average Ukrainian. I have met a Ukrainian citizen who moved to Ireland, into Adamstown, some years ago before the war. There are some Ukrainians living and working in Ireland, but the vast majority didn't ask to come here. They didn't ask to have to stay here so long. And you do have this attitude that says that Ukrainians are basically skiving when they can go back to their own big country. That's what's out in social media. But Ukraine has a war effort it's trying to sustain, and we need to show solidarity, continue to help them as best we can.