Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of the refugees coming to our town, Ballaghaderreen, yesterday. More than 70 people travelled from Balseskin down to the emergency reception and orientation centre in Ballaghaderreen yesterday. There was a hugely warm welcome for them. They have been in the country for a number of weeks. It was a real pleasure to be able to meet those people as they settled in. The community in Ballaghaderreen intends to play its part. We intend to support them as best we can. A friends of the centre group led by a number of local volunteers has been set up. The community have gifted both an indoor and an outdoor playground to the refugees, along with a lovely welcome wall. That is very tangible evidence of the community in Ballaghaderreen wanting to support them on an ongoing basis through volunteerism.

The most important thing now is that we get the education facilities up and running. The Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board has been very proactive in terms of recruitment of staff to support the centre. There are well over 30 children in the group that came down yesterday. It is important that primary and secondary education initially will be provided within the centre, along with adult education classes and a preschool.

There have been some difficulties with health funding. Further funding was made available about two weeks ago. I will be keeping a very close eye on it. It is very important that additional health and education services in particular, along with interpretation services, are made available. It cannot be from existing services because services in the area are already stretched.

I want to emphasise the very positive welcome that the Syrian people received yesterday and we continue to want to support them as best we can.