Ukrainian refugees are being isolated in rural Donegal

Concerns that language barriers and isolation would alienate Ukrainian communities in rural Donegal were aired at Monday's meeting of the Donegal Joint Policing Committee.

JPC member James Trearty, a former garda sergeant, said he had concerns about Ukrainian refugees living in rural areas with little or no contact with local communities.

"The Ukrainians are holed up in a lot of rural areas in Donegal with absolutely no connection at all with the local community. I proposed that the four or five big sporting bodies in Donegal organise a day in local areas so the refugees could integrate with the communities."

He said he felt this would be better than bringing them to a central location.

"They need to be made feel part of our localities. I remember reading about the Irish communities in a similar situation at the time of the Famine in places like New York. Many of them only spoke Irish so we should know how these people feel," he said.

His call was backed up by Cllr Michael McClafferty who also stressed how important it was for the new visitors to meet the established communities where they now lived.

He added he knew from his own investigations that the language barrier was a problem.

"The resources are not available in certain schools and they are struggling and that's not fair."

JPC chairman Cllr Gerry McMonagle said he appreciated what the speakers were saying but this was not a JPC issue.

"There are agencies out there to deal with that. We can only pass on your concerns," he said.