Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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505. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the Syrian refugee crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37719/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 13 May 2015, the European Commission published an EU Agenda for Migration. The Commission proposed the establishment of an EU-wide resettlement scheme to offer 20,000 resettlement places by the end of 2016. Ireland has committed to accepting 520 persons for resettlement during the 2015/2016 period under this initiative. Ireland is one of 27 states worldwide that participate in a refugee resettlement programme led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). To be eligible for resettlement under this programme, a person must be a refugee, i.e. they must have left their country of origin and sought protection in another country. For example, refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict currently resident in Lebanon and Jordan would be eligible for resettlement whereas a person still resident in Syria would not.

The focus of the Irish resettlement programme in recent years has been on the resettlement of refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict. UNHCR, in cooperation with NGOs at a local level, identify the most vulnerable persons for resettlement purposes, regardless of their race, religion, nationality or ethnicity. UNHCR then proposes the cases to Ireland for consideration. Self referrals or referrals by other organisations or individuals do not form part of this programme.

The Resettlement team of the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration of my staff went to Lebanon on two occasions in 2015 and to Jordan on one occasion in 2014 to interview refugees for resettlement purposes. 397 persons, including Syrians and Iraqis of both Christian and Muslim faiths were selected for resettlement during those selection missions.