Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the programmes under which programme refugees have been accepted by Ireland since 1990; the number of refugees accepted by Ireland under each of these programmes since that date; if programmes are under consideration by his Department for future implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20544/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The term Programme Refugees is the expression that prior to 1996 was commonly given to refugees admitted into Ireland by Government Decision. These Government Decisions each set out the rights and entitlements of those admitted into Ireland. The expression was then used in the Refugee Act of 1996, section 24 of which gives a statutory basis to the rights and entitlements of refugees admitted under these Government Decisions.

In the period referred to by the Deputy, refugees were accepted into Ireland from the Former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Vietnam by a series of Government Decisions. Some of these decisions were to accommodate emergency medical evacuations; others gave priority to individuals with relatives already in Ireland. A number of these government decisions were temporary assistance programmes and the refugees in question are no longer programme refugees; many of these refugees have since returned to their countries of origin, though some have chosen to apply for leave to remain in Ireland.

In addition to these programmes for entry into Ireland from the above mentioned locations, in 1998 there was a Government Decision to admit an annual quota of 10 refugee cases for resettlement in Ireland. The bulk of these cases are referred to Ireland by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. This quota in practice amounted to an average of 40 people per year. In 2005 there was a further Government Decision to increase the quota to 200 persons. The process of admitting the 200 persons under the 2006 quota is well under way.

The UNHCR's resettlement needs for 2007 are expected to be published shortly, at which time planning will begin in order to fill Ireland's 2007 resettlement quota. The decisions on admission will be taken by the Reception and Integration Agency of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in close consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and will be guided by the stated needs of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.