Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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94. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the commitments that the Government has made in terms of accepting refugees and unaccompanied minors to Ireland, in tabular form; the number of persons to date that have been accepted here under the various resettlement and relocation programmes; the number of unaccompanied minors that have arrived here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3288/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, 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 this programme, the Government has pledged to accept a total of 4,000 persons into the State by the end of 2017, 2,622 through the EU relocation mechanism established by two EU Council Decisions in 2015 to assist Italy and Greece, and 1,040 (519 by the end of 2016 and the remainder in 2017) under the UNHCR-led refugee resettlement programme currently focussed on resettling refugees from Lebanon.

In a further gesture of humanitarian assistance towards the most vulnerable caught up in the migration crisis and following a debate in the Dáil, the Government also committed to taking up to 200 unaccompanied minors from France who were previously resident in the migrant camp at Calais. Further information in relation to this cohort is being included in the response to PQ No. 95 for answer today. These initiatives therefore leave just a small residual balance to be allocated from the Government decision to take 4,000 persons.

Resettlement strand of the programme

Taking account of the situation in the Middle East, and the plight of the refugees, the Tánaiste announced that Ireland would accept 520 persons for resettlement over an 18-month period to the end of 2017. This was almost double the figure proposed for Ireland by the European Commission and was delivered a year ahead of the Commission deadline.

In addition, the Government recently announced that it is extending the resettlement programme to take in a further 520 refugees from Lebanon in 2017, most of whom are of Syrian origin. 260 refugees have already been selected during a selection mission to Lebanon in October 2016 and are expected to arrive in Spring 2017. Most of these refugees are also Syrian. A further selection mission to Lebanon will be arranged in the coming months to select the remaining refugees due to come to Ireland in 2017 under the resettlement programme.

Relocation strand of the programme

Ireland has to-date taken in 241 people from Greece. In November, IRPP officials travelled to Athens and interviewed a group of 84 people who, once cleared for travel, are expected to arrive in February. An IRPP mission to interview 80 people took place in Athens from 12 – 16 December. A further mission has already taken place in January which interviewed 61 people. The intention thereafter is to sustain the pace of intakes throughout 2017 at the levels required to allow Ireland to meets its commitments to Greece within the time frame envisaged by the Programme.

Table of Total Numbers under Government Decision

Unaccompanied minors

In announcing the IRPP, the Government recognised the importance of prioritising family groups and addressing the position of unaccompanied children. A significant number of those who have arrived to date are young children with one or two parents. Ireland has taken in four unaccompanied minors with another to follow very shortly; we have indicated our willingness to take further unaccompanied minors from Greece under relocation and work continues in this regard. Such minors are placed in the care of Tusla. Unaccompanied minors that Ireland takes from Greece are additional to the commitments made by Ireland in respect those previously resident in the migrant camp in Calais.

The profile of persons taken in to-date under the relocation and resettlement strands of the IRPP is outlined below.

Profile for Relocation Asylum Seekers

Profile for Resettlement Refugees