Councillor calls for Ukrainian teachers to be introduced to schools
Councillors call for meeting places and better services for Ukrainians in the county
Measures ought to be put in place to help Ukrainian children who may be falling behind in classrooms due to a 'language barrier,' Independent Councillor Michael McClafferty suggested at a Glenties Municipal District meeting on Tuesday.
Mr McClafferty warned that children from the Ukraine who cannot understand what is being said in classrooms may be facing difficulties. He said there must be Ukrainian teachers and translators living in the locality and suggested that these people be introduced to classrooms.
"If there are Ukrainian teachers and translators out there we should try to get them into the schools as well as into the community, obviously," he said.
He said the onus was on councillors to write to the relevant authorities to express these views.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher and Fianna Fáil Councillor Noreen McGarvey said that meeting points for Ukrainian people must be discussed.
Ms McGarvey said: "There are Ukrainians living in the locality. We need to up our game and provide a social centre for them, as time goes on, or a meeting point or something like that."
Ms Gallagher said that library services must also be looked at in order to ascertain how user friendly they are for Ukrainians: "These are all the services that we take for granted," she said.
The Dungloe-based representative said a strategy must be worked on in order to ensure services are there for Ukrainian people.