Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, visited Roscommon last week, which was phenomenal. She was there to pay tribute to the Horses for Hope equine centre, which is the first of its kind in Europe and has been opened at Castlerea Prison. It offers people the opportunity to work with animals. We saw many of the prisoners there go on a course over a number of months and they come out with qualifications and have the opportunity to work in these roles once they leave Castlerea. It is wonderful and it has been well funded. It is innovative and empathetic in an area where that would not normally be seen.

The Minister also paid a visit to Donamon Fáilte Centre, which is taking in people from Ukraine. We had young mums with small babies who had travelled thousands of miles to reach a sanctuary in the middle of Roscommon. As has been mentioned, I will be speaking on the supports that will be coming with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, in terms of a one-stop shop that will be in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. That will support third level students who are arriving here from Ukraine to continue their studies so they are not left behind in achieving their goals and potential, which is crucial. They have received a welcome and the people we met said they will never forget what Ireland has done for them. I sometimes think we are fortunate and lucky to have people who are coming to Ireland to show us what they can give us. We had young doctors, paediatricians and software engineers in Donamon, all young people who are waiting to contribute to our communities. There were also so many who are looking forward to being able to return home at some point in the future.