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	TDs and Senators from Co Roscommon, who today met with Department of Justice to discuss controversial proposals to house 80 refugees of Syrian origin in a disused hotel in the county, have called for the appointment of a full-time child psychologist for the county.</p>
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	TDs Eugene Murphy and Michael Fitzmaurice and Senators Maura Hopkins, Frank Feighan and John O&#39;Mahony met with Minister of State at the Department of Justice David Stanton and his officials in Leinster House.</p>
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	Mr Murphy said the position of child psychologist had been vacant in Roscommon for some time and would need to be filled before any of the children who had been through the trauma of the Syrian conflict actually came to live here.</p>
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	It was confirmed to the Oireachtas members that 36 children under the age of 13 would be coming to live in the hotel in Ballaghaderreen in March.</p>
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	Thirteen of the children will be under 4 years of age, 19 of them will between the age of 5 and 12 and four of the children will be 13 years old.</p>
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	The Oireachtas members told Mr Stanton that the department needed to open lines of communication with the local community.</p>
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	Mr Stanton confirmed that a contract has been signed with the owners of the hotel and that a new national community fund would be set up to allow local community groups to get involved in integration projects.</p>
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	Senator Maura Hopkins said she had been assured Department of Justice officials would be calling to the hotel every week to see how the services for the refugees are working out and if and when changes needed to be made.</p>
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	(Published by RTE.ie on the 11th January 2017)</p>
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	<a href="https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0111/844269-roscommon-refugees-tds/">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0111/844269-roscommon-refugees-tds/</a></p>
