Pringle calls for supports to be extended to all people living in Ukraine and others fleeing humanitarian crises

By Thomas Pringle
Updated: 1st July 2022

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, said he supported provisions to give further supports to people settled in Ireland under the temporary protection directive, and repeated his call for the provisions to be extended to all people living in Ukraine and others fleeing humanitarian crises.

Addressing the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “It is great to see so many Ukrainian people settled here within our communities and I know many communities, like my own in Killybegs, have done all they can to make them feel welcome and safe in their temporary home.

“Fleeing war is an incredibly traumatic experience and we must do all we can to ensure these people are supported fully. In order to do this, it’s important that those living here under this temporary protection directive have all the tools and supports necessary to fully participate in our society.”

He said: “I would like to again reiterate my call to extend this directive, not only to Ukrainians, but to all those living in Ukraine. Citizenship shouldn’t matter when you’re fleeing war and seeking protection.

“Indeed, I believe we should extend the directive even further and implement its provisions in response to various other humanitarian crises as well. Everyone deserves safe and humane living conditions no matter what their citizenship or which country they are fleeing from,” he said.

He said one of the most depressing aspects of the situation was the fact that citizens of other countries who were living and working in Ukraine were refused entry to the EU and to Ireland because they were non-Ukrainian citizens, “and you’d have to say, sadly, it’s because they weren’t white. They happened to be living in Ukraine, they suffered the consequences of the war as much as any Ukrainian citizen did, and they had to leave.”

The deputy made his remarks during debate on the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022.

The deputy also supported the proposal to give families who opened their homes to Ukrainians a monthly contribution of €400, saying, “We should do all we can to support Irish families in their effort to support Ukrainian families.”

Deputy Pringle said: “I would like to point out that, although I am glad that part 4 of this bill is taking the opportunity to do so now, I am disappointed that it has taken this particular crisis to address longstanding issues within our immigration system.

“Allowing for registration with immigration authorities throughout the country, rather than in Dublin only, will make a huge difference particularly to immigrants in my constituency of Donegal, where this is a huge barrier. And I’m hoping it will be available to all immigrants rather than just Ukrainian immigrants,” he said.

The deputy said: “In the explanatory memorandum for this bill, it is stated that in response to the Ukrainian crisis ‘a number of legislative gaps were identified’. I don’t believe that these gaps were only identified following the Ukrainian crisis. We have long known of gaps in the system. There just sadly hasn’t been any will to address or close them previous to now.”

Deputy Pringle also fully supported the provision in the bill for empanelling and summoning a jury for the Stardust inquest, saying it was “shocking” it has taken so long to resolve these issues. He said he hoped this would remove the last barrier to ensuring families can have the full process they deserve.

The deputy said: “We must ensure that the jury selection is completely transparent and that the inquest proceeds as planned in September, to ensure that no more pain is inflicted on Stardust families who have been fighting for the truth for over four decades.”

The deputy also repeated his criticism of Government for rushing this bill and others through the Dáil, saying, they could have come in a timely fashion to allow for proper scrutiny.