Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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164. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress being made in resettling refugees here under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme in the context of the EU Agreement on this matter; if unaccompanied minors will be given a priority for resettlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25915/16]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established by Government Decision on 10 September 2015 as a direct response to the humanitarian crisis that developed in Southern Europe as a consequence of mass migration from areas of conflict in the Middle East and Africa. Under the programme the Government has pledged to accept a total of 4,000 migrants into the State by the end of 2017, through a combination of the EU relocation mechanism established in 2015 to assist Italy and Greece (which Ireland voluntarily opted into) and the UNHCR-led refugee resettlement programme currently focused on resettling refugees from camps in Jordan and Lebanon.

Under the Resettlement part of the IRPP, 520 refugees are to be resettled in Ireland by 31 December 2016. As of yesterday, 377 of these 520 have been admitted to the State. Sufficient cases were selected during a selection mission to Lebanon earlier this year to fill the rest of the quota of 520. These cases have been security screened and health screened and are scheduled to arrive in groups between now and the end of October. In addition to this 520, the Government recently announced it is extending the resettlement programme to take in a further 260 refugees from Lebanon in 2017.

As regards the EU relocation mechanism, it is well documented that the pace of arrivals under this programme to date has been slower than expected. The Government is wholly committed to ensuring that Ireland meets its obligations under the EU Relocation mechanism in a timely fashion. I am pleased to report, therefore, that following a highly productive visit by Irish officials to Greece earlier this year, the frequency and numbers of arrivals has increased and is continuing to improve. Ireland has to date taken in 69 Syrian people, mostly families. A further 40 people have been assessed and cleared for arrival and arrangements for their travel to the State are currently being made and last week IRPP officials interviewed a group of 63 people in Athens who, once cleared for travel, are expected to arrive in October. It is estimated that by the end of 2016 Ireland will have accepted up to 360 people under relocation. The intention thereafter is to sustain the pace and size of intakes throughout 2017 at the levels required to allow Ireland to meet its commitments within the timeframes envisaged under the EU Relocation Decisions.

In announcing the IRPP, the Government recognised the importance of prioritising family groups and in addressing the position of unaccompanied children. A significant number of those who have arrived to date are children with one or two parents. The position with regard to unaccompanied minors is that Ireland has formally indicated to Greece its desire to accept unaccompanied minors under the relocation mechanism and we now have a commitment from the Greek authorities that Ireland will be receiving the first group of unaccompanied minors later this year. The next step is for the authorities in Greece to forward case files for those unaccompanied minors they wish to assign for relocation here. Once these files are received, officials from Tusla - the Child and Family Agency with responsibility for the care of unaccompanied minors in the State - will travel to Greece to assess the needs of those minors and plan for their care and accommodation upon arrival.

As regards relocations from Italy, some technical issues have arisen with regard to the programme in Italy and Government officials are continuing to work through these with the Italian authorities.