Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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205. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the services which will be made available to the refugees due to arrive in Roscommon. [1802/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, refugees in Roscommon will be temporarily accommodated in the Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROC) to be located in Ballaghaghaderreen. As the name suggest, an EROC is largely about reception and orientation for those who are to be subsequently resettled. The overwhelming majority of persons being relocated to Ireland are Syrian.

The services provided to people arriving from Syria will include education, GP services, HSE medical screening, and access to the services of the Department of Social Protection. A core part of the job of the IRPP is coordination and ensuring appropriate service delivery. Staff of the IRPP hold weekly clinics in the EROC with clients and any service level issues become immediately apparent.

The relevant services will be provided locally or in some cases may be provided at the centre. The mode of service provision is determined on a case by case basis depending on the local situation and the individual circumstances of the asylum seekers. Every effort is made to mainstream services with local populations while not impacting on the delivery of local services. Thus children may attend local schools and adults will be provided with English language classes by the local ETB. Services can in some instances be provided directly to the children and adults although the preference is that they are provided in conjunction with local services as this helps significantly with integration. It should be noted that accommodating persons in EROCs for a period of time is considered to be good practice as it allows for a period of acclimatisation, de-stressing and on-site processing. It is also a process that is supported by the UNHCR as best practice.

By law all children resident in the State must attend school between the ages of 6 and 16. The children of those staying in the Ballaghaderreen EROC will be no different. IRPP officials are liaising with colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills to ensure all children of school-going age resident in the centre are either placed in an appropriate school in the general area or whether facilities in the EROC are the most appropriate mechanism to address educational needs. It is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills to determine whether or not additional resources (e.g. SNAs) will need to be put in place in local schools to meet requirements. If necessary, a bus service will be established should any of the school placements be outside walking distance. The availability of crèche/pre-school facilities is also subject to discussions with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

To ensure that the local service demands generated by the refugees and asylum seekers can be met, an EROC team composed of local service providers is being established. This model works extremely well in both of the current EROCs located in Clonea Strand and Monasterevin respectively. Persons arriving under relocation will also have had the benefit of direct engagement with my officials while in Greece or Italy, including a vulnerability/needs assessment. Officials of the IRPP will continue to closely engage with those placed in the EROC and will work to ensure that any local service issues that may arise are promptly resolved.