Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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99. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the efforts made on accepting refugees from the Syrian conflict and from Calais, France; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38815/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) established by Government Decision in September 2015, the Government pledged to accept a total of 4,000 persons into the State by the end of 2017, through a combination of the EU relocation mechanism established by two EU Council Decisions in 2015 to assist Italy and Greece, and the UNHCR-led refugee resettlement programme currently focused on resettling refugees from camps in Lebanon.

The Refugee Resettlement strand is making excellent progress. 507 refugees have already arrived from Lebanon. 519 will have arrived by the end of December fulfilling our original quota a year ahead of the EU deadline of 8 December, 2017. To build on this early success I was pleased to announce last week that I am sending our fourth mission to Lebanon to arrange for a further 260 refugees to come to Ireland. This is in addition to an earlier commitment of 260 refugees due to arrive in the first half of 2017. The total additional commitment of a further 520 refugees in 2017 in effect doubles our original commitment to resettle refugees under this two year programme.

This latest decision reflects the Government's commitment to welcome vulnerable refugees fleeing war and conflict and is another positive step towards meeting our overall commitment to accept 4,000 persons. It also takes account of the slower than anticipated arrival of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy as a result of operational difficulties experienced by all countries in the initial establishment of the Relocation strand of the IRPP in those countries. However, 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 provided the Greek authorities with a full timetable for the acceptance, by end September 2017, of the entire cohort of asylum seekers allocated to Ireland under the relevant Council Decisions. Ireland has to date accepted 131 persons under the relocation strand. A further 127 persons are scheduled to arrive later this month with regular substantial monthly arrivals from Greece thereafter. The Greek programme is now working very well and Ireland expects to meet its full obligations to Greece.

The relocation of asylum seekers from Italy to Ireland has been hampered by technical issues which have been the subject of discussion up to ministerial level. It is hoped that the issues can be resolved in the near future which will allow the numbers being taken in under the IRPP to increase further.

An All Party Dáil motion approved by Government on 10 November last called on the Government to work with the French authorities to identify up to 200 unaccompanied minors previously living in the unofficial migrant camp in Calais and who have expressed a desire to relocate to Ireland. My Department is working with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on all matters arising from the commitments agreed in the recent Dáil motion. Both the French and British authorities and relevant NGOs have been contacted and information is awaited from NGOs in respect of children identified as wishing to relocate to Ireland. It is essential, if Ireland is identified as a location of choice for these young people, that services are in place and can cope with any such arrivals. We must ensure that we maintain the highest standards of international protection and care. The legal pathway for entry must also be robust to ensure that our actions fully comply with international best practice and protection law.