Municipal District: 16 September 2022

Question: Can the council confirm how the needs of Ukrainian families are being assessed and responded to in this municipal district?

Report: The response to arriving Ukrainian families in the county has been very challenging given that the community is very dispersed and the number of people arriving and leaving the county is changing on a daily basis. Kildare County Council has continued the facilitation of information sharing between key agencies through its Community Response Forum where the primary needs of arriving Ukrainians are addressed in particular housing, health education transport, language and social welfare.

A Ukrainian Emergency Response Coordinator, has been appointed in Kildare, which is funded through the SICAP programme, whose role is to coordinate and communicate between agency and voluntary responses and to address gaps in the response. A smaller interagency working group, led by the coordinator, which will work to support the Ukrainian Emergency Response has been formed and Kildare County Council has formed part of this group.

A dedicated website was launched by Kildare County Council with key information for Ukrainian people arriving in our county. The Community, Libraries and IT Department are continuing to update and maintain the Ukrainian information portal on the Kildare County Council website which mirrors national guidance and allows local agencies to have information displayed. This portal continues to develop and provide information on welcoming people to our County and how others can help. A number of events and programmes were organised by Kildare County Council Community, Sports Partnership and Libraries team for our Ukrainian residents over the summer including a trip to the beach, sports events and coffee mornings and summer camps. These supports will continue into the coming months.

Responsibility for the inspection of pledged properties has been transferred from the Red Cross to local authorities. Kildare County Council received a list of approximately 400 properties, contact was made with each property owner to establish continued interest in pledging, 160 property owners confirmed their interest in continuing with the process, of which 24 are located in the Celbridge Leixlip Municipal District. The inspection of these properties is now ongoing.

Issued by: Ms P O’Brien, Senior Executive Officer, Economic Community and Cultural Development