The Government has been urged to make sure that Ukrainian children who come to Ireland are given the support they need. 

Barrister Anna Bazarchina, who was born in Ukraine but moved to Ireland as a child, said that they would need extra help with learning English and adapting to life in a very different country: 

“It’s going to be particularly hard for the kids,” Anna told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“They’re coming in, they’re leaving everything behind and are joining the schools in Ireland. 

"So I think more support needs to be given to them as well in relation to English support - learning the language and incorporating into school with other children.” 

Ukrainians walk from Ukraine to Isaccea in Romania after crossing the border on March 5th 2022. Picture by: Liviu Pazargic / Alamy Stock Photo

More than 2,500 people have arrived so far and officials have estimated that that figure could swell to the tens of thousands as the conflict continues. Minister for Education Norma Foley told Newstalk Breakfast yesterday that “it is not going to be easy” to provide school places for so many new arrivals but predicted that her Department would be able to cope: 

“It will certainly bring challenges,” she said. 

“But I do think that all of us in society are very conscious that not one of us would like to walk in the footsteps of a mother who is trying to find safe passage for her children - a safe haven for her children - and I think it behoves us all to do what we need to do.

“I have every confidence the education sector will do that.”

Overall, Anna said that Ireland has so far done “extremely well” in responding to the crisis - whether through Government support for Ukraine or individual acts of generosity:  

“I’m so grateful to the Irish people who have done so much for the Ukrainians,” she said. 

“There are normal people that have offered their homes, their spare bedrooms to accommodate families travelling from Ukraine. 

“That’s far from the Government, which has done so much as well, offering accommodation in hotels that are arriving into Ireland. 

“It’s offering them food, medical health check-ups and everything else. So extremely grateful.”

Main image: A child is seen sitting in an evacuation bus in Kyiv. Since the beginning of the Russian military invasion, more than 1.7 million refugees have left Ukraine. This is reported by the UN refugee agency. Picture by: © Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire.