IRELAND WILL HAVE to play its part in providing accommodation to Ukrainian refugees, Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley has said following a brief visit to Ukraine.
Dooley, who is vice president of the EU Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group, and MEP Billy Kelleher, travelled to the Ukrainian city of Lviv for talks with political leaders. They have since returned to Poland.
They are the first Irish politicians to travel to the country since the Russian invasion twelve days ago.
The Fianna Fáil politicians travelled to the city at the invitation of a member of the Servant of the People party, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ALDE members voted last week to grant temporary affiliate status to the party.
During their time there, they met with the Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi, the governor of the region Maxym Kozytsky and members of the Ukrainian Parliament.
The @fiannafailparty Senator and @ALDEParty Vice President, as well as Munster MEP @BillyKelleherEU meeting the Governer of Lviv region Maxym Kozytsky @rtenews pic.twitter.com/WUeuhqmiPK
— Paul Cunningham (@RTENewsPaulC) March 6, 2022
Speaking to RTÉ News, Dooley said Ireland will have to play its part in providing accommodation “and lots of it” to Ukrainian refugees.
“I don’t think we should be looking at limits at this stage. I get the sense that Irish people are really ready to help. I think they will reach out like never before,” he said.
It comes after James Browne, minister of state in the Department of Justice, said yesterday that the number of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland could exceed 80,000.
The UN has announced that more than 1.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is set to travel to New York today for a two-day visit, where he will take part in a Council of Foreign Relations discussion on Europe’s response to the invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, he will participate in an open debate at the UN Security Council on the theme of Women, Peace and Security, which will highlight the grim reality currently facing women and girls in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Coveney will also meet with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and representatives of Irish-America to discuss the Good Friday Agreement, Reconciliation and Legacy issues. He will also meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Dooley said that the people of Ukraine want more help from Europe, including more helmets and bulletproof jackets.
“That is something Ireland has committed to doing and it is certainly something we will be taking back home,” he said.
He also said they want to see an orderly passthrough of people fleeing to neighbouring countries.
“There’s probably a tailback of 20km of cars. I’d say there’s people in a queue of maybe 5km. It’s dark, it’s now heading for the night, they are not going to get through til the morning at the earliest. People are queuing for two days back there,” he said.
Kelleher said that there was huge local concern expressed in their meetings over the number of civilians killed since the invasion began.
“They can’t have evacuees being attacked from the air as is the case in Mariupol,” he said, adding that Ireland must also ensure there’s financial support for NGOs like the Red Cross.
With @ALDEParty Co-President @timmydooley I travelled to SE Poland & Lviv in #Ukraine to see first hand the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding.
— Billy Kelleher MEP (@BillyKelleherEU) March 7, 2022
NGOs working on the ground need additional support and money. More official border crossings also needed.
pic.twitter.com/O3ExaShlgA
Dooley said they chose to meet the party members in person because it “showed we were really serious about helping them”.
“They invited us. They wanted us to come. I think from their perspective, it showed that we were committed to working with them”, he said.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Dooley said their initial intention was to travel to the Polish border on behalf of ALDE, but that they chose to travel to Lviv after they were invited. “They wanted us to see the situation at firsthand and we certainly did that.”
Acknowledging that the advice given to Irish citizens had been not to travel to Ukraine, he said they took a “calculated risk” after seeking the advice of those that invited them, who deemed it safe for them to travel to the city.
He said they will now prepare a report of what they saw, which will be sent to the ALDE member parties across Europe.
“We will be reporting back to our respective parties across Europe, and to those that need to know what we have seen and what the message that we have been given, which is to provide greater assistance to the refugees who are finding it difficult, quite frankly, to cross the border,” he said.
He said that there has to be a more coordinated effort in Europe to get people attempting to leave Ukraine.
Yes, there’s technically an open border in that Ukrainian people are allowed free access to Europe, but the processing on the border leaves a lot to be desired at the moment and we have to try and do something to to make that easier for those that are fleeing the bombs of Russia.
He said there will be “work to do” when the refugees arrive in neighbouring countries, adding that the number of people fleeing is going to increase and that appeals will have to go out to families across Europe, including in Ireland.
Dooley also acknowledged the response that he has received from people in Ireland that have contacted him in the past week in relation to hosting Ukrainian refugees.
“There is a huge willingness by the Irish people to open up their homes and assist these people who are fleeing really a terrible situation.”
Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said the government is working with the Irish Red Cross to put in place a national pledge portal to help coordinate offers of support from Irish people, which will be up and running “shortly”.
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