Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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90. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Syrian refugees the State has accepted in 2015, 2016 and to date 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6132/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is one of 27 States that participate in a refugee resettlement programme led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The focus of the Irish resettlement programme in recent years has been on the resettlement of refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict who are living in one of the hosting countries in the region, for example those living in Lebanon. UNHCR at a local level identify the most vulnerable persons for resettlement, regardless of their race, religion, nationality or ethnicity.

Under the resettlement strand of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), 176 programme refugees arrived in this State in 2015, of which 149 were Syrian refugees. In 2016, 356 programme refugees arrived in this State, of which 335 were Syrian refugees. There have been no arrivals in 2017 to date.

In addition to those people brought to Ireland under the resettlement strand, 70 Syrian nationals brought to Ireland under the relocation strand of the IRPP have also now been granted refugee status, all in 2016. There were also 19 Syrian nationals granted refugee status (and a further three Syrian nationals granted subsidiary protection status) in 2015, and 82 Syrian nationals granted refugee status in 2016, having arrived in Ireland and applied for international protection.