Mr. David Costello:

The EU apparatus is only cranking up. They are based in hotspots in Greece in Piraeus, and in Catania and Lampedusa in Italy. It will be up to the Italian and Greek authorities to look at the caseloads of the people who have applied for asylum in those countries who have a 75% grant rate normally for refugee status based on EU statistics. The three groups primarily being considered at the moment are Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans. Effectively it would be for the Italian and Greek authorities to look through those caseloads with the assistance of EU agencies and with Irish liaison officers. The primary role will be for Greece and Italy to choose who in those caseloads, based on their territory, who have applied for asylum will come here. We can express a preference for education, qualifications and family links, if the groups are already in Greece and Italy under the relocation programme. The view, however, is that it has to be left to the Greek and Italian authorities to select the cases.