Intake of Ukrainian refugees should match capacity to provide services, says TD

Vivienne Clarke

Clare TD Cathal Crowe has called for the intake of people fleeing the war in Ukraine into Ireland to match the capacity to provide services.

Capacity has been reached and exceeded he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

All supports in his constituency were at "bursting point" with some people sleeping in stairwells in hotels and in tents and many cut off from services. It was not just a matter of ticking a box and putting a roof over someone’s head, other supports such as healthcare, education and transport had to be considered, he said.

Mr Crowe gave the example of a pregnant woman he had met who could not get GP care and would have to present at an emergency department to get pregnancy care.

"This started out as a massive care project. But we are beyond crisis point in some services. I’m very concerned."

When asked if he was calling for a cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland, Mr Crowe said that under EU laws there was no provision for a cap, which "might be the wrong word".

Capacity should be increased for support services before more people are taken in, he urged. There were Ukrainian doctors and dentists in the country, qualification requirements could be changed to allow them practice.

There were also too many properties in Clare signed up to Airbnb which could be used to provide long term accommodation, there needed to be an incentive to "bring them into play".

Mr Crowe said he had discussed the issue with the Taoiseach who wants to look at increasing capacity.

It was wrong to have people in tents especially at this time of year.

"I’m on Putin’s black list. I want to see this war end."