Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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202. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her views on the request being made by many campaigners to increase the number of refugees to 400 from the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, following the recent fire; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28545/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Ireland strongly supports the principle of solidarity and recognises that assistance is required for Member States who face a disproportionate number of applicants and where incidences such as that which occurred in the Moria camp in Lesbos can cause additional hardship.

Last week, I announced an additional commitment under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) to welcome up to 50 people in family groups from Greece following the recent fire that almost completely destroyed the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece.

The families who will arrive from Greece have already been granted an international protection status by the Greek authorities. I will grant them ‘programme refugee’ status immediately upon their arrival in Ireland. Officials from my Department are liaising with the European Commission on the detail of this commitment, and along with An Garda Síochána will travel to Greece in the coming weeks to make the arrangements for their safe passage to Ireland.

My colleague, Minister O'Gorman, has also committed to relocating four unaccompanied minors from Greece into the care of Tusla. Minister O'Gorman and his officials are working with Tusla to accelerate the arrival of additional unaccompanied refugee children from Moria, and hope to make further announcements in due course.

The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established in 2015 in response to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe. Under this programme, the Government committed to accepting up to 4,000 people into the State, primarily through a combination of the EU Relocation Programme and the UNHCR's Refugee Resettlement Programme.

To date, more than 3,350 people have arrived in the State under this first phase of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Most of the remaining people will arrive under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme Humanitarian Admissions Programme (IHAP). However, these people make their own travel arrangements, and so no exact timeframe can be given for when they might arrive in Ireland.

Last December, a second phase of the IRPP was announced giving a commitment to welcome a further 2,900 refugees between this year and 2023, through a combination of resettlement and community sponsorship. The refugees who are due to arrive from Greece are in addition to this number.

Ireland can only accept the number of people that we are able to accommodate and support effectively. We will of course consider additional numbers as part of the EU response when we can provide the necessary support services including initial accommodation and appropriate housing once the new arrivals have received some orientation support. The matter will continue to be kept under review.