COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 09, 2022

QUESTION NO. 16

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

To ask the Chief Executive to detail his endeavours to facilitate Ukrainian Refuges; will he confirm contacts he has had in respect of the issue and future plans in that regard and will he make a general statement?

REPLY:

The Council has re-established the South Dublin Community Response Forum to coordinate the community-led response to support Ukrainian refugees as they arrive in the County. The forum, which is chaired by the Council’s Chief Executive, brings relevant statutory, community and voluntary agencies together at a local level to be an information source and signpost to services including local health, education, social and other integration needs as well as identifying and addressing issues arising for Ukrainian refugees in the County where possible. The Mayor of South Dublin County, Councillor Peter Kavanagh, also participates in this forum on behalf of the Elected Members of the Council.

The Council is providing relevant online information in English and Ukrainian, including on the Council's website and through a Facebook page with details also shared on other social media channels.  The Forum gathers updates from all partners and will continue to share relevant information through these channels.  Any updates from state, community and voluntary agencies can be sent to communityresponseforum@sdublincoco.ie for inclusion on the website and Facebook page.  Please see  https://www.sdcc.ie/en/news/community-response-forum-for-ukraine.html for further details. 

The Government is currently providing accommodation to Ukrainian refugees through the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) with the oversight of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY).  Housing supports are not being directly provided by this Council at this stage, but this Council is supporting DCEDIY and IPAS as required in their ongoing work to provide accommodation.  Further information in this regard is available here:https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/d9f43-international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/.