Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I question the UNHCR funding because reports are saying that due to difficulties with access and restrictions on personnel on the ground, officials are not in a position to implement and to monitor and, therefore, the funding is not having an impact. There is also a need for monitoring of the training of the coast guard personnel in order that we know exactly what work they are doing because there have been difficulties in this regard as well.

With regard to funding, according to a reply I received some time ago, €90 million was provided for the protection of migrants; €4.8 million for protection activities; and €42 million for socioeconomic development at municipal and local government level. This was on top of an earlier €120 million allocation. There is a need for an exact breakdown of where that money is going because the Amnesty International report and the MSF medical teams are telling us that the horror is continuing and these detention centres are not the answer.

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