Kathleen Funchion on Ukraine's Children: Calls for Protection & Care
Kathleen Funchion addressed the unfolding situation in Ukraine, concentrating on the devastating impact on children and urging urgent protections, supports and safeguards. She acknowledged work by various departments and the minister while warning the humanitarian crisis is unprecedented and likely to deepen.
Child casualties and displacement
The speaker highlighted reported child casualties and mass displacement, citing estimates that 78 children have been killed and 105 injured, with the UN suspecting the figures are higher. She noted that 7.5 million children live in Ukraine, about half have been displaced - roughly just over 4 million - and about 1.8 million children have fled the country, a figure she compared to the population of Munster and Leinster.
Damage to infrastructure and basic needs
She described widespread destruction of homes, schools, crèches and playgrounds, and cited reports that orphanages, neonatal units and maternity hospitals have been targeted or destroyed by missile and rocket attacks. Many children lack access to safe drinking water, health care, electricity, heating, food and medical supplies, which are dwindling in many areas.
Risks for unaccompanied minors and trafficking
The speaker warned that children fleeing the war face heightened risk of human trafficking and exploitation amid chaotic movement and confusion. She referenced estimates of roughly 6,000 unaccompanied minors having left Ukraine and recent reports of around 500 unaccompanied children crossing into Romania, stressing the urgent need for protections and safe arrangements for these children.
Mental health supports and access through schools
She urged attention to the less visible, long-term consequences for children, calling for mental health supports linked to schools, and suggesting play therapy in crèches or regional services that can enter schools and childcare settings. She emphasised that mental health services will be critical for children who have experienced trauma and displacement.
Medical continuity and support for services
The deputy drew attention to vulnerable children who are terminally ill, in ICU, awaiting life-saving surgery or routine developmental checks, and noted challenges when refugees arrive without medical records. She recounted an example from a local hospital where women in cancer treatment arrived with no files, underlining the need to support hospitals, education and childcare services asked to absorb extra work.
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Thanks very much, Cahirleach. I welcome the opportunity to speak about the situation that is currently unfolding in the Ukraine and the devastating impact it is having in particular. I am going to probably focus on the issue of children in particular. I do just want to say and acknowledge the work that has been done to date by the various departments and ministers. I know that a lot falls into Minister of Government's Department and also Minister Humphreys, but it is an unprecedented situation and there has been a huge amount of work done to date given the situation. We know in particular with children it is estimated that 78 have been killed and 105 have been injured and the UN actually suspects that these figures are much higher and unfortunately the reality is it probably is going to increase over the next number of weeks depending on how long this situation is going to be ongoing. It estimates that 7.5 million children actually live in the Ukraine, so that is actually just a little over 2 million, just to put it into context of our own population, of our entire population of children, and that one in every two children have been displaced, so that is about just over 4 million children in total. 1.8 million children have fled Ukraine in total, which, just to put it again into context, is roughly the entire population of Munster and Leinster, so I mean that is just children alone. I think those figures, sometimes you know when you talk about figures that the message can get lost, but I think when you just think about that amount of children, it is really frightening, to be honest, when you actually think about them. Their homes have been destroyed or damaged, in many cases fathers have left families to fight the invading Russian army, their schools, their creches, their play parks, playgrounds, everything that they would have taken for granted, just totally decimated and taken away from them. There are reports that orphanages have been targeted, neonatal, and we have seen the reports of the maternity hospitals destroyed with missile rocket attacks. I do not think any of us can imagine, as adults here, how frightening and scary that situation would be, but just imagine being a child in that situation and not knowing what is going on, and obviously picking up on the fear from your own parents too. Well, I am sure that you can imagine trying to keep it together for the sake of your children when you really do not know what is going on yourself. I just think that there really is no word, sometimes it is just devastating to think about all of those children who do not currently have access in a lot of cases to safe drinking water, health care, electricity and or heating, and food and medical supplies are dwindling in many situations. As we know, we have witnessed in other conflicts that children fleeing the war in Ukraine are also at greater risk of human trafficking and exploitation. And I think that is something that we need to be really, really conscious of. And I think it was actually mentioned earlier today in the chamber that it is roughly around 6,000 unaccompanied minors. I think they estimate have left into, obviously that is just not Ireland, that is all of the European countries. But that is something that we really need to be very, very cognisant in relation to the chaos, the confusion. The movement of large numbers of refugees makes it very easy to exploit vulnerable children. And reports recently suggest just recently around 500 alone have crossed in unaccompanied children just through the border of Romania alone. So just the threat, I suppose, that children are facing is real and it is growing and we really have to do everything in our power. In particular around, I mean, the whole situation obviously needs to be addressed, but particularly around unaccompanied minors. I think we all have the image of children, you know, standing alone or just being totally left by themselves. And what they could be, what they have already faced is horrific and we definitely need to ensure that they get the safety and protection that they so deserve. Whilst there is an immediate threat to life, it is the hidden or less publicised consequences of this war that will follow children into adulthood. And that actually leads into what Deputy MacDonald was saying in relation to mental health supports. That is obviously going to be very, very crucial and critical. And I wonder as well, is there a possibility of looking to see, can we link some sort of mental health supports in relation to schools, particularly for children where they will be attending schools. And maybe if appropriate play therapy in crèches or some sort of, you know, a service kind of regionally that that could look to actually go into schools and look to go into crèches. It might be an easy way of accessing it. That's actually something I advocate in general. I think we should have access to those services anyway, but I think it might be something that we could look at. Terminally ill children, children in ICU, children awaiting life saving surgery or children awaiting speech and language or routine developmental check. We need to be cognizant of all of these children and what happens to them. And actually, you know, I heard a story from our own local hospital. It wasn't with children, but it was to do with women who had gone through treatment for breast cancer or they were in the middle of their treatment for breast cancer. And they are obviously arrived, obviously no medical information or files. And the hospital was trying to figure out what type of tumour had it been, what type of chemo was appropriate. So they're all things that you wouldn't actually even really think about. So all of that needs to be, we just need to be cognizant of that when we're asking, you know, departments and hospitals and all our education services and our childcare services to take on all of this extra work. We need to ensure that they are supported and resourced to do that. NGOs have already observed a reduction in vaccination and childhood immunisations, such as those for measles and polio. Again, we need to look at this area in terms of children and being able to access all of their normal developmental checks. And we just need to be really cognizant of the war on in terms of, I suppose, how it affects children and not just their physical health and all of those things I've just outlined that we take for granted. You know, going for your childhood vaccines, but all of the mental health as well. I totally lost track at the time. I hope I didn't go over. Thanks. Thank you.
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