Tag Archives: ukraine war

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe has fired a shot across the bow of government policy by calling for an end to the allocation of more Ukrainian refugees in Clare due to the lack of suitable accommodation. While Deputy Crowe stressed he agreed that the Banner County should take as many refugees as possible, there was now a point where these refugees were sleeping on airport floors and new tents in Meelick. The Fianna Fáil Deputy said Ukrainian refugees needed a roof over their heads, education, transport, health provision and pastoral care to deal with the trauma of coming from a war-torn country. He believes the government is now doing a “disservice” to these refugees by not properly meeting their needs and by proceeding to accommodate them in tents on a so-called temporary basis, which is likely to continue for months due to the lack of permanent dwellings. The provision of tented facilities for up to new 100 asylum seekers in Meelick has …

THE provision of tented facilities for up to new 100 asylum seekers in Meelick has prompted concern about “two-tier” accommodation. Clare Immigrant Support Centre co-ordinator, Orla Ní Éilí is worried short-term emergency accommodation could be in place for months or years in a worst case scenario. “This is very worrying. Asylum seekers in the Knockalisheen Accommodation Centre can hang out in their bedroom whereas up to ten asylum seekers could be living in one tent. “It is introducing a new two-tier accommodation system for asylum seekers.” It is understood the tents in Knockalisheen will be used to accommodate single, asylum-seeking men. Ms Ní Éilí said people are coming to Ireland seeking asylum from several different war-torn countries because transport has opened up again following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Knockalisheen Accommodation Centre accommodates about 200 people including families. Clare Immigrant Support Centre along with other organisations working with the Ukrainian community and the international protection community are concerned about the provision …

A TENNIS programme is being run throughout July for Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Shannon. It started last week and is being run by Wesley O’Brien, who said it came to Shannon after something similar began in Meelick a few weeks earlier. “About three weeks ago I started a similar programme at the Radisson Hotel for the families there,” Wesley told The Champion. “A lady called Siobhán Boyd reached out to me, who’s with a group in Shannon, and she asked if I’d do something for the families in Shannon so I said no problem.” He was very pleased with how it had begun. “It went very well, we had good numbers considering it was the first day. We broke it into different age groups, there were five to ten-year-olds from half two to half three, 11 to 17 from half three to half four and then 18 and over from 4.30 to 5.30pm. Considering it was the first …

Additional psychological services will need to be provided for Ukrainian students in Clare schools when the trauma of the illegal invasion of their country really sets in. That’s the view of new Ennistymon Community School principal, Orla Conway, who believes more back-up services will have to be made available to help schools cope with the devastating impact of the war. “It is like a bereavement for them at the moment. They are numb. When reality sets in autumn and we start heading in to winter the trauma will come then. “That is when we will really need to be ready for this in schools in September, October and November. That is why having strong pastoral care systems in schools is so important. “We are all traumatised from the war. Children in schools already have a level of trauma post Covid-19, they may have lost loved ones and the fear it may happen again. The Ennistymon Electoral Division has the highest …

FIGURES released last week show that 2,452 Personal Public Services Numbers (PPSN) have been issued to Ukrainians in Clare, but the numbe of arrivals here may actually be much higher. Orla Ní Éilí of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre said, “We’re a bit confused by the numbers, they’re based on PPS numbers, which people have to have. “But we can tell you in the hotels there are around 2,500 people at this stage and out in the community there are a lot more. We would say that Clare has had 10% of arrivals from the word go.” Should that be the case, then there would be approximately 3,500 Ukrainian refugees in the county. Ms Ní Éilí said that many people are still coming, with around 26 arriving on one day last week alone. Clare Immigrant Support Centre has never had to deal with a situation like this, with so many people arriving at one time, she said, while noting that …

Clare County Council has appointed an acting director of services to co-ordinate the local authority’s response to the Ukraine crisis. Jason Murphy has been made Acting Director of Services (International Protection – Ukrainian Response) to strengthen the Council’s response to the current crisis by providing a focal point through a new, dedicated team. A spokesperson for the Council said it has played an integral role in the State’s response to the Ukrainian crisis thus far and this appointment was meant to consolidate that. “To date, we have worked with our communities and State agencies in the initial phase of this response. We are now taking steps to consolidate our approach and provide a coordination and activation role for services,” said the spokesperson. Reporting to the Chief Executive of Clare County Council, the role will specifically involve working with various partners such as the Community Response Forum, NGOs and agencies. Speaking about his appointment, Mr Murphy acknowledged “the crisis experienced by …

ENNIS Lions Club has raised more than €50,000 through the “phenomenal” support of the people of Clare for an orphanage in Poland caring for displaced Ukrainian children. The funds have been raised through a variety of endeavours including a bucket collection held throughout the county in the early weeks of the invasion. Details of the local fundraising success were unveiled as Lions Clubs throughout Ireland look ahead to participation in the Lions Clubs International day in support of Ukraine Refugees and Displaced Persons on Saturday, June 11. Terence Mangan of Ennis Lions explains they were moved to do something to help those fleeing the invasion of Ukraine once news of the conflict began to emerge, and they have been overwhelmed with the response from the public. “We knew straight away that this was going to be a very serious situation because it is the first time in 80 years that we have had any kind of major war in Europe, and …

Ukrainian artist Liudmyla Sikorska, who has been living in the Mid-West since 2015 will host an auction of her works in Ennis next week to support the works of volunteers providing support for the people of Ukraine. Liudmyla’s art adorns the walls of homes and businesses in Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, New Zealand, Luxembourg and of course in her beloved Ukraine and Ireland. Liudmyla has decided to auction a number of her paintings in order to support the work of the UCCI- Ukrainian Crisis Centre Ireland. The Art for Ukraine auction will take place in the Old Ground Hotel on Thursday May 26 at 7pm.  The auction will be conducted by local auctioneer Cormac O’Sullivan and the art can be viewed at the County Museum from this weekend.