Ms Sophie Magennis:

The Irish authorities run two types of selection processes. One is dossier based. In that case we in the UNHCR prepare a file containing all of the information about a person and this is sent to the authorities to be reviewed here. The other system is what is called a "selection mission" and Ireland is now doing this more often. For the most recent selection mission for example, the Irish authorities went to Amman in August last year. What the UNHCR does in that case is, it identifies people who might be in need of resettlement. We look at the most vulnerable refugees, those who are struggling where they are and who do not have the financial resources to survive in Amman. We send their files or dossiers to the Irish authorities in advance so that they can read through them and they then come to Amman and meet them. To some extent, this is a two-way process, in that the authorities can explain to the refugees concerned what Ireland is like and can check if it will be an appropriate match for them. The interview takes place and then the Irish authorities make a decision on the cases before them. When they decide to accept those cases, those people are formally informed and within a couple of months they arrive.

The Irish authorities have some selection criteria. These criteria tend to be around family units, because they find these are easier to integrate when they come to Ireland. They look for family units, for a small number of medical cases, for particularly vulnerable groups and also try to bring a group into Ireland whose members will in some way support each other. They try, therefore, to try to identify groups with families with a leader style that might have some coherence around them and will use those criteria to assist in selection.