Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Both the Chairman and other Deputies are pointing out the huge vulnerability of unaccompanied minors caught up in the refugee crisis and who disappear in the system. I know this is a significant concern internationally. They are difficult to identify in the first place and clearly are not being registered. Accordingly, it is difficult to reach out to them and ensure we can take them in Ireland or elsewhere. The UK decided it would not participate in relocation. It is introducing its own measures and is involved in resettlement by taking people from the refugee camps.

The French President, François Hollande, has recognised the situation in Calais is intolerable and unsustainable. The people there, for the most part, want to go on to the UK. He has signalled his intention to disband the camp completely and have the people living there provided with accommodation in other parts of France.

Many people will welcome this because, given what we have all seen, the situation there is intolerable. The migrants in Calais have the same rights to apply to the French authorities for asylum as they would have in Ireland. Many want to travel to the UK.

We are focusing our resources in the areas of greatest need. We are taking people from, for example, the camps in Lebanon. Lebanon has taken in the equivalent of one third of its population, as has Jordan. A large percentage of people in Lebanon are refugees. There is a huge need to take people from its camps. That is what we have done and by the end of the year, several hundred will have come from there.

As we must under the EU agreement, we are prioritising our focus on asylum seekers in Greece, given the large scale of the problem on its islands and mainland. I meet the Greek justice Minister regularly at the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Greece wants us to do this and we have made it clear that we are prepared to take hundreds more refugees. That is our policy. This work will accelerate. Now that the system is working more effectively in Greece, people are registering because they cannot go to Sweden or Germany in the same way as before. A part of the context that we need to understand is that people were simply moving through Europe. That has stopped because individual countries have taken action. Our focus must be on the programme to which we are committed, as opposed to Calais. From a foreign affairs point of view, though, there will be discussions on the issue between the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and the relevant Ministers in France and I will bring the committee's concern to his attention.

To answer the Chairman's question on unaccompanied minors, there are no legislative barriers. We do not need any legislation to address this issue. It is a question of identifying the unaccompanied minors. The age issue is not a barrier because we and Tusla will take any children who are under 18 years of age. Age is only a barrier in so far as many of those who were named as unaccompanied minors turned out on investigation to be much older, but that is a different issue. Tusla is committed to taking some unaccompanied minors. Many children are coming to Ireland as a part of family groups, but our people on the ground in Lebanon and those who will return to Greece are making it clear that we will take unaccompanied minors. We have done that from the beginning. The process has been slow for everyone, but we are committed to taking unaccompanied minors as part of the broader group. If they can be identified to us and Tusla can respond, I hope those numbers will increase.