Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

588. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications received by her Department under the Syrian refugee initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25888/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware,the Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme (SHAP), introduced following an approach by members of the Syrian community in Ireland, is intended to offer temporary Irish residence to vulnerable persons present in Syria, or who have fled from Syria to surrounding countries since the outbreak of the conflict in March 2011, and who have close family members residing in the State.

The Programme allows naturalised Irish citizens of Syrian birth and Syrian nationals already lawfully resident in the State to make an application for vulnerable close family members to join them in Ireland on a temporary basis for up to two years. These are persons who are considered by their sponsoring family member present in Ireland to be most at risk. A sponsor may be a single person or the head of a family unit. Persons admitted under the Programme will be entitled to work, establish a business, or invest in the State. A key condition of the Programme is that these persons should not become a burden on the State. If these family members cannot find employment the onus will be on the sponsors to support them during their time in Ireland.

I am informed by INIS that 86 applications were received under the Programme and that processing of the applications has commenced.

The Deputy may wish to note that queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.