Roderic O'Gorman
Dublin West · Green Party · Ireland
“These are men and women who served their working lives within the British civil service system but who, following unification, would be drawing their pensions in a united Ireland. The question of the funding of that will be extremely significant in any talks following a "Yes" vote on both parts of the island.”
“Some 100 extra staff have been hired to the public domain team to tackle waste and dumping and our councillors will continue to fight for a cleaner and greener Dublin.”
“These challenges are magnified by the continued failure of the current political institutions in Northern Ireland to operate for the best interests of the people rather than achieving best political advantage for the parties.”
“In the Dublin Central area, an average of 50 tonnes per month of illegally dumped waste is being removed by the council. It is a huge amount of waste, and this is more than is collected in an entire year from whole counties elsewhere in the country. Our current model of waste management is a direct contributor to this.”
“This means that in many areas, bags are the notional solution but these cause issues with seagulls or foxes or are intermingled with illegally dumped bags. The net result is our footpaths are strewn with waste. Dublin City Council recently rolled out a system of waste compactors in the core areas of the city centre.”
“The solution is to rationalise the current system, put local authorities back at the centre of waste management processes and use this to get a better handle on pricing and illegal dumping through contracts that are right for each specific area, instead of the one-size-fits-all model we have at the moment that is not actually working anyw…”
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“Not only the individual workers, the individual business owners, the individual farmers who are in carbon-intensive industries, but also the wider communities that depend on these people for their living. The just transition sees that people who are already vulnerable in our society, who already face poverty or relative poverty, will need the greatest support. We should always keep in mind that the impacts of climate change are going to be felt the most by the least well-off in our society, be that globally or in Ireland. It is the poor who suffer the most if rains fail in Ethiopia or when hurricanes are more severe in the Caribbean because of climate change. It is the poor who suffer the most from the energy price spikes we have seen here in Ireland. They are the ones most at risk of energy poverty.”
“Deputy Whitmore made the point about the use of the technical terminology "just transition" sometimes hiding or disguising what is being attempted and how that lack of clarity sometimes contributes to lessening support for the steps we need to take. Let us just remind ourselves what the intended outcome is here. The just transition is about improving people's quality of life while tackling the greatest threat in our lifetime, namely, climate change. That is what it is in a nutshell. It is about recognising that the workers who are employed in the parts of our economy that create a large amount of carbon will need the greatest amount of support.”
“I welcome the reintroduction of this just transition Bill. I thank Deputy Whitmore for doing so. I thank her for recognising those who worked on this legislation, including my party colleague Eamon Ryan, Dr. Sinéad Mercier and the trade unionists who have been involved in the past. Since this Bill was first proposed by the Green Party in 2018, much has changed in the legislative agenda and the policy direction of this country and indeed in the world as a whole. The just transition has been recognised as absolutely essential. It is referenced in our own domestic institutions, it has been adopted within EU frameworks and it is included within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, commitments as well.”
“I ask him to speak to the issue of what this trial says about the broader question around the approach the EU is taking to people who are found in distressed conditions in these boats. What is the prioritisation here?”
“Like Deputy Rice, I want to raise the situation of Seán Binder and the 23 other human rights defenders who are appearing in court in Greece today. Their crime is volunteering as rescue workers and saving the lives of those who are distressed at sea. In the seven years since he was arrested, Seán Binder has posed this question, "If you come across somebody in distress, what do you check first, their pulse or their passport?". These human rights defenders now face up to 20 years in prison but this trial is not just solely about them. It is also about the broader message sent to those who choose compassion over indifference. If the Tánaiste could also update me when he gets a briefing from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on its specific intervention in this case, I would appreciate it.”
“It was former Minister, Eamon Ryan, who led on developing energy credits to ease the massive burden on households. However, imagine the cost to the economy if we had not spent the two previous decades building our renewable energy capacity. Should we not be concerned with asking ourselves how the Irish people can afford another shock like that? I hope the Minister of State agrees with what I am saying and that Government policy is focused on that but it does turn out to be a question of priorities. When the climate and nature fund, a large portion of which was set aside for the future focus piece on energy, especially offshore but also retrofit, is wiped out in one go, we are shown what the Government's priorities are.”
“In the limited time I have, I will make one short point. So much of the debate on the cost of energy is focused only on today and what can the Government do today to alleviate increased cost on households. That is, of course, essential but what is the point if we are not also talking about how we get away from our dependency on expensive, shock-sensitive fossil fuels? Even though more should be done, there is a limit to what a Government can do in an emergency mitigation situation. It is expensive and is never going to cover everything that is needed. That dual-track approach on energy of "helping today, saving tomorrow" is one the Green Party devoted much of its time to in the previous Government when external shocks, like the invasion of Ukraine hit.”
“It also very conveniently forgets that much of the language being used against the trans community now is the exact same language that was used in the eighties and nineties against the gay community and which, unfortunately, is seeping into the discourse today. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward the motion enabling this important debate on trans healthcare. I look forward to supporting it in the vote tonight.”
“The motion calls for a model that can work, is accessible and will allow trans adults, with best interest focus and clinical guidance, to make their own decisions about their future, knowing that whatever they choose, the State will support them, their clinicians will guide them and care options will be available to them here in this country. I can see no conflict or no moral wrong that can come from enabling a tiny minority to live freely. I have recently heard a small but growing voice that says gay men and lesbians should oppose any focus on the rights of trans people and that supporting them supposedly puts our hard-won progress in jeopardy. I say an absolute "No" to that argument. I have no time for it and I think it is predicated on a view that an equal place must be earned.”
“When we step away from the rantings of that online mob, however, we immediately see how real people approach a minority who they see denied their basic care, that is, with empathy, respect and a desire to remove obstacles to happiness. Fundamentally, we need a reset in the debate, which centres the debate on those basics of human decency. Trans people are equal citizens in our Republic. They are our siblings, friends and neighbours. They do not receive a level of even basic medical care, medical care that is well established in other jurisdictions and provided there for the best interests of individuals.”
“I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. I am happy to speak in support of it. I am glad the Minister is here giving her time to the debate. It is so important that we have this debate and do not shy away from addressing the issue of trans healthcare, particularly in these times of increasing hatred. Trans people are looking to politicians more than ever to see someone articulate their needs and rights. Regrettably, we know the discourse has absolutely been saturated by toxicity, lies, fallacies, misrepresentations and a focus on marginal arguments. Often, there is a focus on the circus antics of online clowns. This is all ably facilitated by social media companies. It is hard to think of another group in society right now who have been as maligned as trans people. That is a shame on all of us.”
“It recognises that they are stewards of the land and it helps them to adapt without risking their own livelihood. We have the willingness to draw together the relevant actors here, but we need clarity on the steps that have been taken so far. If the Minister does not have all that information here, he can come back to me in writing with the extra detail, which would be appreciated.”
“I just would like to bring the discussion back to Lady's Island Lake specifically because there is a real opportunity here to take measures that will restore the lake to a functioning ecological system. We are still in the dark about some of the specific details about what is happening. Have farming inspections around Lady's Island Lake increased? Have there been inspections of septic tanks? Has there been engagement with Irish Water about the treatment plant at the lake? I know people are concerned about that as well. Local campaigners are worried that in a couple of years' time, we will be back here making the same points across the floor. We have a model that works, the innovation partnership model funded by the EU. It has worked in other areas, and it also is effective in that it does not scapegoat farmers.”
“This was quite successful nearby, at Duncannon beach, in dealing with pollution. I ask the Minister for some detail about the innovation project that is being designed to support farmers specifically around Lady's Island Lake?”
“The problems in Lady's Island Lake are not new. The reports of pollution there go back as far as the early 1980s. Every few years it seems the problems get so big that there is a call for action and that is usually dealt with through the breaching of the sand spit at the southern end of the lake. The EPA report from January, which the Green Party would credit with sounding the alarm, could not have been clearer about what is needed, namely, enforce existing regulations on agricultural nutrients entering the lake, help farmers change practices and improve the buffer zones around the water sources that flow into the lake. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, be taking a leading role in engaging with local farmers? I was glad to hear the Minister mention the European Innovation Partnership.”
“Senator Noonan and I have raised the environmental damage at Lady's Island Lake on several occasions in both Houses. I welcome the recent announcement of funding by the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, for Wexford County Council to help tackle the issue. What is the Minister's Department and the agencies associated with it doing in response to the report of the joint committee regarding the pollution in Lady's Island Lake.”
“Throughout this debate there is a constant refrain from the Minister that welfare is improving in the greyhound industry but when there is a failure by a State body to be transparent with facts, it is indicative of an industry that is not taking welfare seriously. I would really appreciate if the Ministers could come back to me in writing on this. It is something I have been pursuing at length over the past few months.”
“These dogs are now aged between 48 and 60 months, which is absolutely at the upper limit at which dogs might still actively race. Are we to believe that these 2,415 dogs are still being actively raced well beyond their expected retirement? When my office sought information about the status of those dogs on the race management system, which would show how many of these dogs had raced in the past 42 days, Rásaíocht Con Éireann refused to provide that information repeatedly. Essentially, it will not tell us the status of this cohort of dogs. Where are these dogs? Are they alive? Are they homed? How many of them have been culled?”
“As we discuss the public funding of the greyhound racing industry, I want to raise some concerning information my office uncovered recently. For the past number of months, I have been submitting parliamentary questions to the Department and to Rásaíocht Con Éireann seeking data on the status of racing greyhounds in Ireland. This follows the reports from the Irish Examiner last year that nearly 2,800 racing greyhounds born in 2021 and registered in Ireland, more than a fifth, were either dead or unaccounted for. The recent data I have obtained from Rásaíocht Con Éireann shows further concerning data from that 2021 cohort. As recently as 24 September of this year, 2,415 racing greyhounds born in 2021 were recorded as still active on the Rásaíocht Con Éireann traceability system.”
“There is general agreement that the outcome of COP30 was disappointing, in particular the failure to mention the transition away from fossil fuels. Last July, I met the climate minister of Vanuatu. Vanuatu is a small pacific island nation whose very existence is at risk from climate change. It is looking to generate------”
“I ask that the Government look at that again because I truly believe that if we are serious about tackling this epidemic of hate in our society that is posing a risk to vulnerable people and to democratic norms, we have to tackle those algorithms.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and for his recognition of the threat and fear that have been generated in Irish society. It is important to recognise the risks to the democratic norms as well. During the recent presidential election, there was an AI-generated fake video apparently showing Catherine Connolly pulling out of the campaign and there were, of course, the awful slanders that were put out about Jim Gavin. They were seen 700,000 times before Mr. Gavin got to respond. No amount of fact-checking will ever put that genie back into the bottle again. Last year, Coimisiún na Meán published its draft code of conduct which included a regulation of the algorithms that direct the social media platforms. However, when the finalised version was published later in the year, they were omitted.”
“Does the Taoiseach accept that there is a risk to social cohesion and to our democratic norms from the unchecked online lies and hate? Does he agree with me that that risk is actually growing? If so, does the Government propose to do more and, in particular, re-examine the adequacy of the regulation of the online algorithms that drive so much of this hatred across platforms?”
“I welcome the announcement of the investigation by Coimisiún na Meán into X, but I fear that once its conclusions have been reached, and the matter has been litigated in the Irish courts and then the European courts, years will have passed during which the toxicity from bad faith actors will have continued to target minorities and undermine our democratic norms. The algorithms that drive traffic across social media platforms and deposit videos featuring extreme content in people's feeds are incredibly powerful tools. The inadequacy of the regulation of these algorithms and, in particular, the failure to compel platforms to have these algorithms set at a default off-position have been widely identified by those campaigning for reform in the area as a key driver of hate.”
“They represent a pattern of targeting vulnerable groups, vulnerable people and people who can be easily scapegoated. Our society has a growing problem with hate. It is not organic. It is not representative of real people. As well as targeting certain groups, it is now often targeting and impinging on our democratic structures. This is beyond Government and Opposition. Every Deputy listening to me here sees the level of hate directed against them online and, too often, in person. The home and family of the Tánaiste have been threatened. The leader of the Opposition's canvassing team was attacked.”
“I want to raise the issue of the growing levels of hate in Irish society and what steps the Taoiseach's Government can take to address it. This is the hate that led to a deliberate arson attempt on an IPAS facility where women and children were living. It is the hate that compelled young men to attack two drag queens on the street of the Taoiseach's own city a few weeks ago and which allowed some passers-by to applaud. It is the hate that motivated a group of people to surround a car in Citywest and scream racist abuse at a Ukrainian family, including young children, inside. This is the hate that drove two men to beat another man to death in west Dublin because he was from a different country. These are no longer isolated incidents.”
“That Bill was not opposed on Second Stage in the Seanad and I urge the Minister to take the proposals in that Bill and the Bill before us, tabled by Deputy Carthy, and undertake the badly needed reforms to legislation in this country to protect victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.”
“I urge the Minister to consider the Bill brought forward by Deputy Carthy and move to introduce protection orders that can further enhance victims' safety. Protection orders are a necessity and I urge the Minister to take on board proposals from my party colleague Senator Noonan and his Seanad colleagues in Labour and the Social Democrats, whose joint Bill looks to create indictable offences where the breach of a court order is serious, persistent or violent in nature and to empower the justice system to respond more effectively to patterns of coercive control.”
“I thank Deputy Carthy for bringing forward this Bill today. I do not think we can speak enough in this Chamber about domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Some progress has been made in recent years, such as the establishment of Cuan, the third national strategy and the introduction of domestic violence leave, but the figures speak for themselves. Women's Aid reports that last year over 41,000 disclosures were made to it about the abuse of a woman and over 5,000 disclosures related to the abuse of a child. An Garda Síochána reports that over 65,000 domestic abuse incidents occurred last year and the Courts Service reports that there were over 25,000 applications to the District Court for a domestic violence remedy last year. In that context, we must constantly seek ways to make the situation better for victims.”
“With the Government having watered down its own ambition to tackle the issue of energy poverty in rental properties, this Bill is even more important. I would argue that this Bill gives the Government a way to deliver on commitments it has repeatedly made but which have now been abandoned. It gives it a chance to redeem itself for the delay and the indecision. If the Government does not take the opportunity offered by Deputy Murphy's Bill, the failure will be the Government's alone.”
“Shelving progressive climate measures yet again is not a pragmatic step, it is a regressive step. It is costly and deeply unjust. We need a plan that lifts renters out of energy poverty, helps small landlords upgrade their properties, cuts emissions and protects basic public health, and uses climate funding for climate action. That is why, when we were in government, the Green Party created the climate and nature fund to tackle major challenges, including the retrofitting of private rental properties, and yet the Government raided this fund that was designed to tackle major systemic challenges such as the retrofitting of rental properties. Friends of the Earth has called this Bill timely, necessary, and absolutely doable.”
“With record high rents in this State, the absolute minimum renters should expect is a home that is warm, healthy and affordable to heat. Delaying BER standards for rental properties is not only reckless, it is a false economy. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council have made it clear. If we miss our emissions targets in the building sector, the cost to the taxpayers will be in billions. Kicking the can down the road will not make this cheaper, it will make life more difficult for renters. We have to recognise what the real-life consequence of this delay is. It means a parent putting their child to bed in a damp room, a worker watching the heat escape through their walls and a pensioner rationing warmth in the depths of winter. These are not abstract situations. These are people's lives.”
“It tackles the root of energy poverty in the rental sector, it gives Ireland the same basic protection that renters already have, as I said, in France and in the UK, and it finally begins to make warm healthy homes a right rather than a privilege. I am supporting this Bill because renters cannot wait for this Government to put their interests first. Climate targets will not wait for landlords to be adequately incentivised to do this off their own steam. The health issues caused or exacerbated by damp and mould are not going to wait for Government to take this seriously as an issue. Energy poverty will never be addressed so long as renters remain the most at risk of it yet the least empowered to do anything about it.”
“The ESRI's research confirms the scale of the challenge: 240,000 to 260,000 rental properties will need an upgrade. The overall price tag is big, at €7 billion to €8 billion. Even if you looked at those most urgent ones, those homes with a BER category of E1 or below, retrofitting them will cost between €1.7 billion and €2.3 billion. That is a big challenge. A challenge of that scale demands leadership, clarity and a systematic plan. Instead, we have delay, drift and a vague commitment to examine policy measures, but we also have this Bill which is proposing something that France and the UK have already implemented successfully. The Bill is not radical. It is reasonable, practical, overdue and, I would argue, absolutely essential.”
“Instead, we get this incredibly vague statement undertaking to "examine policy measures to incentivise increased energy efficiency in the private rental market." As an objective, it could not be more non-committal if it tried. It is depressing to see such a clear commitment entirely jettisoned. It is particularly depressing when considering landlords are already quite well incentivised to retrofit their rental properties. They can avail of all the grants the rest of us have at our disposal, they can get low-cost loans and they can even deduct retrofit costs from their rental properties. As Deputy Murphy said when he introduced the Bill, they have not taken the carrot so now there is a need for some element of a stick. The roadmap the previous Government committed to may have vanished but the problem has not.”
“This is a perfect example of a split incentive at work. Tenants paying the bills, landlords avoiding the upgrades and Government looking the other way. During oral questions in this Chamber a few weeks ago, I asked the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to address the delay in progressing the minimum BER for rental properties and to give me a date when the roadmap would be achieved. He could not and now we understand why. Last week the Government published the shiny new housing plan and the commitment to introduce a minimum BER for rental properties has been entirely abandoned. Another climate measure that would help hard-pressed renters and another Government U-turn like so many this year.”
“This is not just a housing issue but a public health, climate and social justice issue. We know what cold and draughty homes do to the people who live in them and to society at large. They deepen energy poverty, worsen respiratory illnesses, drive up carbon emissions and drain families' incomes. More than half of private rentals are D-rated or worse. One in five, 20%, of people living in rental properties are in properties rated F or G, homes that bleed heat and breed mould. No one should have to choose between paying their rent or their energy bill. No child should grow up in a bedroom where mould is creeping down the wall. Energy inefficiency is a form of inequality. The Government's refusal to act has left tenants subsidising their landlords and paying extortionate heating bills for homes that are impossible to heat.”
“Climate change and our economy's addiction to fossil fuels represent one of the biggest cost-of-living threats to householders, families, small businesses and farms in Ireland and this Bill is a practical effort to address part of that issue. I thank Deputy Murphy for bringing it forward. I will set out the scale of the issue we are facing. Across Ireland, up to 250,000 privately rented homes still fall well below a healthy and comfortable B energy rating. This means thousands of people - families, workers, older people, students - are living in homes that are cold, damp, mouldy and expensive to heat. They are paying for it twice. They pay in rents that are too high and in energy bills that are artificially inflated by the lack of insulation in those homes.”
“Despite this, we still have no occupied territories Bill enacted. Let this be the last time we have to bring forward a motion to discuss what the Government is doing. We have a new Minister for foreign affairs. I wish her well in her role. She has said this will be a top issue for her. There can be no question but that an occupied territories Bill that is passed without the inclusion of services is not what the Irish people want nor is it what the majority in this House wants. Most importantly, it will not meet the legal obligations of Ireland and other member states under international law, which were set out clearly by the International Court of Justice. We need to pass this Bill and it must include services.”
“The Tánaiste told us he had received legal advice but, as someone who received the same legal advice from the Attorney General in the summer of last year, I can say there was absolutely no reference within it to a need to make a distinction between goods and services. It was a 23-page letter that went into great detail about the issues the Attorney General had with the Bill but, in 23 pages, there was not one reference to a need to make a distinction between goods and services. What has happened since then? The Dáil has continued to raise pressure on this issue. In February, we debated a motion on the topic. There were statements on Gaza in May, July and October. We now have a recommendation from the foreign affairs committee to progress the Bill. Clearly and importantly, it recommends that we progress the Bill while including services.”
“There were previous legal concerns about the ability of the Bill to withstand challenges in the European courts but the ICJ opinion addressed those concerns. Indeed, it went further. The court noted that we are obliged to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that insist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel. At the time, both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste committed to progressing the Bill. What has happened since then? In January of this year, the Government announced it would bring forward its own occupied territories Bill-lite, abandoning Senator Frances Black's legislation and removing the issue of services from the Bill. Neither the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste have ever been able to convincingly explain to the Irish public why they believe services need to be omitted.”
“I thank colleagues in the Independent and Parties Technical Group for bringing this motion forward. I am pleased to speak in favour of it but I am absolutely dismayed to find myself a year after a general election, where the occupied territories Bill was a key part of the national conversation, to be still discussing the need to pass the OTB. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael made commitments to enact the Bill during the election campaign, which was a significant change from their previous views, and a promise to the electorate that they would not do anything to block the progression of the Bill anymore. Those changes came about in light of the opinion of the International Court of Justice, which gave the Government a much stronger legal footing to enact the Bill.”
“This is not modern; it is medieval and is rooted in extraction, exploitation and a fantasy that Europe can outsource environmental damage without moral consequence. I urge Government Members to reject this deal here in Ireland and at European level and to negotiate with their EU counterparts to stop this disastrous deal in its tracks. The EU's integrity demands it, Irish farming families demand it and our climate obligations demand it too.”
“In Brazil alone, approvals for highly contaminating and hazardous pesticides have surged in recent years, as have their sales. Meanwhile, the environmental carnage accelerates. The Mercosur deal rewards more cattle ranching, more soy plantations and more deforestation of the Amazon. Indeed, this deal represents a deforestation machine. It will drive climate collapse while farmers in other parts of the world are working constructively to reduce their own emissions as they are here in Ireland and across the European Union. Finally, there is the human cost. Indigenous communities are being displaced, poisoned, persecuted and even killed to clear lands for the exports that this deal is designed to boost.”
“How can Irish family farms compete with beef that is fattened on land that has been ripped from the Amazon and sprayed with substances that would land an Irish farmer in court if he or she used those same substances? One element of the Mercosur deal that is not being recognised in the Irish context is the chemical warfare embedded in the agreement. While South American agriculture will flow to Europe, that will mean there is a trade imbalance, and that will be evened out by billions' worth of pesticides going the other direction. Many of these are so toxic that the EU has actually banned them: carcinogens that cause cancer; endocrine disruptors that block the body's normal functioning of our hormones; neonic synthetic pesticides that are toxic to pollinators; and chemicals that contaminate the soil and water for generations.”
“I am pleased to speak in this debate today on behalf of the Green Party. I thank Sinn Féin for putting forward the motion. The Mercosur agreement and the trade deal that it increasingly looks like this Government is going to support is not just environmentally catastrophic. It will be economically devastating for Irish agriculture. It will open the floodgates to cheap beef from industrial-scale operations across South America, where production costs are minimal. That is due to weak labour law protections, environmental laws that are minimal and a sector that is pumped up with toxic agrochemicals, many of which are actually banned in the European Union.”
“I would be concerned about proposals to either reduce it further or, as has been suggested by some in the House, to remove it entirely. Research undertaken by Helping Irish Hosts and analysis undertaken by the Department of housing indicate the vast majority of accommodation in respect of which the payment is made was never rental property previously. The recognition payment has been hugely successful in opening up accommodation that was previously unused. Of course a payment of this scale should always be examined and kept under review, and if there are issues arising they can be addressed. We should be looking to see how something such as this, which is an incredibly successful model, can benefit other groups who need short-term accommodation.”
“For example, while there were teething problems with the pledged accommodation scheme undertaken by the Red Cross, it has subsequently been hugely successful. The International Red Cross now cites our pledged accommodation scheme as a model of how such a scheme can work elsewhere. What was really important in supporting it was the accommodation recognition payment. This allows for the independence of Ukrainian families. It allows for better integration with Irish families and communities. It was also far more cost-effective for the State versus hotel or guest house accommodation. Right now about 24,000 Ukrainians continue to be supported through the recognition payment. This payment was reduced earlier this year.”
“They spoke to me and officials there and talked about what it was like to see bombs falling on their homes and to see an invading occupying force march down their street with tanks and jeeps. The conversations that I had with these very early arrivals will always stay with me. They will always be for me a strong reminder of why it is so important that countries around the world have provisions in place to make arrangements for those fleeing war and those fleeing conflict. Our country's response to the needs of Ukrainians was undertaken in an emergency situation. It was not always smooth and it was not always perfect but it did show the generosity of spirit and sense of solidarity that is the basis of so many communities around our country.”
“It is valuable to reflect on the sheer scale of the humanitarian response that we undertook as a country and how communities working with the Government, civil society and NGOs enabled tens of thousands of people to find homes, schools and basic provisions, and to find a sense of community and solidarity in what was undoubtedly one of the darkest times in many of their lives. As the Minister overseeing the initial accommodation response, I met Ukrainians. In the very first weeks of the war I met some who had literally bundled up their families into a car as the war began and drove across Europe to Ireland and to Dublin. I remember in three or four situations people literally arrived at the doorstep of the Department of children on Baggot Street.”