Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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96. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the supports available for those with refugee status and that have been approved for family reunification by his Department; the supports assisting those in emergency reception and orientation centres to move to permanent accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13426/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Persons granted international protection status (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) can access State provided supports and services on the same basis as nationals. This includes full access to the labour market, education, healthcare and social housing assistance, where the established eligibility criteria are met. Eligibility is assessed by the relevant local authority. Beneficiaries with independent means can source and provide their own private accommodation.

Persons in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs) have been admitted into the State under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), either as resettled refugees from Lebanon or as relocated asylum seekers from Greece. The IRPP was established in 2015 as a "whole-of-Government" response to the migration crisis. An inter-Departmental Taskforce was established to implement the programme across all relevant Government Departments and services.

Under the Taskforce, a Housing Sub-Group was established to co-ordinate the provision of medium to long-term housing accommodation for the people arriving under the IRPP. The Sub-Group contains representatives from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the City and County Management Association, my own Department and the Irish Red Cross. The Sub-Group prepared an approach for resettling people arriving under the IRPP according to a series of objective criteria including the population size of the county into which they were to be resettled. The local authorities with responsibility for major urban areas, including the Dublin local authorities, are excluded from this approach due to pressure on local authority housing supply in those areas.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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97. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the statutory and voluntary agencies which are responsible to him for the resettlement of refugees; the practices and procedures in place to resettle such persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13428/18]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established by Government Decision on 10th 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 had pledged to accept a total of 4,000 persons into the State.  The bulk of these persons were intended to be UNHCR programme refugees from Lebanon and asylum seekers in Greece arriving in Ireland from Greece and Italy under the EU relocation mechanism. However, the latter mechanism did not deliver the numbers envisaged and the Government has chosen to fill the gap by making additional pledges for programme refugees and through a new  Family Humanitarian Admission Programme (FRHAP) scheme.

The implementation of the IRPP for resettling Syrian refugees requires a high level of coordination among service delivery agencies at both national and local level.  Service provision is mainstreamed and all the main statutory service providers such as Government departments, the HSE and Tusla are represented on the national Taskforce which oversees delivery of the programme.  In general, coordination is ensured via the IRPP secretariat which is part of the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI) within my Department. OPMI are the primary entity responsible for delivering resettlement via a range of statutory and non-statutory agencies. They have overseen the humanitarian resettlement programmes run by Ireland since they were established in 2000.  The Reception and Integration Agency, working closely with OPMI, is also responsible for contracting accommodation in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres.

The International Protection Office based within the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) also play a prominent role  in this area as they independently determine applications for international protection that are made by asylum seekers arriving in Ireland through the EU relocation mechanism. Staff of that office also serve as liaison officers in Greece and Italy, as required, working closely with national authorities and international organisations based in those states and providing orientation services on resettlement missions in Greece.  Staff of the OPMI also work on temporary assignments overseas in Greece and Lebanon to interview applicants for resettlement together with members of an Garda Síochána and other state agencies as required.

In general, I have responsibility for agencies falling within my own Department but as the resettlement process is mainstreamed other Ministers and other actors also have specific responsibilities, both statutory and non-statutory.

My Department is mobilising European Union Funding under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in support of Ireland's resettlement efforts.  Local Authorities play a critical role in ensuring the success of each resettlement through the implementation of a process carried out by an "implementing partner" with expertise in community integration and relevant supports, supported by funding provided through OPMI and AMIF.

My Department also works closely with the Irish Red Cross, who alongside UNHCR, are represented on the national IRPP Taskforce and who are one of our key partners. The Government assigned the Irish Red Cross responsibility for administering public pledges of support, especially in the area of accommodation, and their case workers and support team work closely with IRPP and refugees to find suitable accommodation options.  IRPP has a memorandum of understanding with the Red Cross in relation to their role.

In terms of practices and procedures, I set out below in general terms some of the key practices and procedures that are relevant to persons arriving under the Programme that are delivered by a range of bodies working to deliver the programme:

- Programme refugees and asylum seekers eligible under the IRPP are interviewed abroad by Department officials to assess their needs and vulnerabilities and to initially orient them to Irish life and society.  Members of an Garda Síochána also accompany those mission and interview applicants from a security perspective.

- IRPP staff and interpreters meet families and individuals upon arrival and accompany them to their initial accommodation in an Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC).  As the name suggests, an EROC is largely about reception and orientation for those who are to be subsequently settled around the country. In the EROCs both cohorts receive broadly the same integration services with due account being taken of the fact that certain things may not be able to happen until individuals receive a decision on their application for a grant of international protection.  IRPP staff hold regular clinics in the EROCs, often at weekly intervals, at which individuals and families may discuss their needs and requirements. The client group also receive an orientation and language training programme while in the EROC.

- During the days following arrival in Ireland, and after initial assessment and registration with the IPO, the asylum seekers arriving under relocation are registered with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for a public services card and receive an exceptional needs payment (ENP).  They are also assisted with registration with INIS.

- IRPP officials provide assistance to ensure that families and individuals receive a medical card.

- IRPP liaise with the Department of Education and Skills and the local Education and Training Board in each catchment area to ensure that groups receive a Language Training and Cultural Orientation programme and to facilitate access to education. Education provision is ensured for school age children by the Department of Education and Skills and Tusla where appropriate.

- Local Service Providers, volunteers and NGOs visit the EROCs to provide services and information and to support and befriend the asylum seekers or refugees.

- A GP is assigned to the individuals and families to ensure that their immediate medical needs are met including referral to dental and optical services.

- Free Childcare is provided wherever possible to allow the adults to attend the Language and Orientation programme in their EROC.

- Emergency medical matters are followed up while resident in the EROCs.

- When housing is made available with the support of the Local Authority, the refugees will be resettled in the community with the support of the IRPP and volunteers in the local community. Each family has the support of an assigned IRPP resettlement worker to assist with the transition along with the support of a full-time Resettlement Support Worker and an Intercultural Support Worker employed by the implementing partner under the auspices of the local authority. Local authorities also receive some funding to provide for certain exceptional needs such counselling, transport and other supports.

- When housing or accommodation is made available in an area through the Red Cross they provide an appropriate level of support to the refugees or, if possible, the refugees may be transitioned into the support programme run by the "implementing partner" under the auspices of the local authority if this opportunity exists in the relevant area.

The IRPP integration model uses the existing best practice model in this area as pioneered by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI) for refugee resettlement but it is also sufficiently flexible to work organically with community bodies, NGOs and civil society to see what else can be added to the integration model in order to assist and facilitate refugees.

It is my firm intention that the model of integration and support is one which will evolve and develop over the coming months and years with a view to offering refugees increasing opportunities to enhance their own lives and it is for this reason I am examining initiatives such as community sponsorship to support the long-term integration process.