Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

More or less every local authority in the State will be involved in this. Is there a point person within each local authority who will oversee all of this?

I have to take the opportunity to raise the prime example of Ballaghaderreen in my constituency, which I have raised with the Minister before, which has been welcoming hundreds of refugees since 2017 in the emergency reception and orientation centre, EROC, in the town, with zero supports. I cannot understand why the Government is creating a situation where refugees and international protection families are located in Ballaghaderreen which is the most economically poor town in all of County Roscommon. It now has 400 refugees out of a population of 1,800 people in the town. It is not being supported. The Government is creating frustrations in a town which are totally avoidable if supports such as healthcare are put into place. A healthcare professional was promised in 2017. It never happened. Both the GPs in the town are under incredible pressure. We are seeing nothing on the ground. The Government needs to look at towns such as Ballaghaderreen which need to be supported. I will keep raising this issue until we see those additional resources. Since 2017, which is not yesterday or last year and is along time ago really, nothing has been delivered.

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