Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if Ireland is playing its part with taking in a proportionate number of immigrants. [32471/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, this Question was part-transferred to my Department and relates to the current migratory pressures being experienced by the Italian authorities.

Irregular migration flows along the Central Mediterranean Route remain substantial, and have seen a significant increase of more than a third over the first six months of this year when compared to the same period last year. A recent European Commission proposal on measures to support Italy is being discussed at EU level this week and aims to improve the situation in the short term. In the long term, to better manage migratory flows and the return of irregular migrants the European Union and its Member States must work closely with third countries to address the root causes of irregular migration.

Through the EU's external migration policy, the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility, and in particular the Partnership Framework and the Malta Declaration, the EU is supporting longer-term strategies to develop economic and political stabilisation in third countries of origin and transit, and in neighbouring third countries.

In June 2016 the EU adopted a Partnership Framework with five priority third countries (Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal). The first step has been to establish and build on working relationships with these third countries with a view to establishing more concrete Migration Compacts. The European External Action Service and Commission are continuing to engage with these priority countries and firmly bed down the concept in the context of the many challenges faced by Italy, while looking to expand the partnership to other third countries.

The Trust Fund for Africa is an important tool with which the EU can encourage third countries to work with Member States on issues such as returns and repatriation, as well as on the issuing of travel documents to nationals from these third countries awaiting return. The Trust Fund has already seen tangible results with three programmes in Libya that support the emergency needs of protection and assistance of migrants and refugees in the country, and projects supporting enhanced security and border management in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Ireland has, to-date, contributed €3 million to the Trust Fund.

A small proportion of the migrants arriving in Italy are eligible for relocation to other EU Member States as asylum-seekers. Ireland is operating the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), which includes the relocation to Ireland of asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy. Under the IRPP, Ireland is on target to meet in full its commitment to Greece. However, as explained in responses to previous Parliamentary Questions, Italy, unlike Greece, will not permit security assessments to be undertaken by other States on its territory. Accordingly, Ireland has been unable to undertake security assessments of the asylum seeker cohort eligible for relocation to Ireland and no relocations from Italy have therefore taken place, despite Ireland's readiness to commence relocations as soon as this issue can be resolved. Intensive efforts have been ongoing to resolve this, both bilaterally with Italian counterparts at official, diplomatic and Ministerial level, and at EU level, including through the European Commission.