Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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950. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 1016 of 30 July 2020, the reason 13 places have not yet been allocated under Phase 1 of the IRPP; and the actions which will be taken to meet 2020 targets under Phase 2 in view of the delays resulting from the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. [32868/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was established by Government Decision of September 2015 (S.I. 80/20/10/0122H) as a key part of Ireland’s response to the global humanitarian migration crisis. The Government decision committed Ireland to accept 4,000 persons under various strands of the programme, including the EU Relocation Mechanism and UNHCR-led Refugee Resettlement Programme. To date 3,367 people have arrived through various strands of the IRPP and are at various stages of integration support in all 26 counties. Ireland responds to emergency situations in collaboration with other EU authorities. Future arrivals including 13 unallocated pledges will be filled under this category.

A new phase of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was announced in December 2019 whereby the Government committed to accepting 650 persons in 2020, 700 in 2021, 750 in 2022 and 800 in 2023, through both Resettlement and Community Sponsorship mechanisms. The arrivals for the first two years will largely comprise Syrian refugees resident in Jordan and Lebanon, along with a pilot group of 150 Eritrean refugees resident in Ethiopia.

A mission to Beirut took place in March 2020 and plans are in train to arrange the arrival of 220 refugees interviewed by Irish officials at that time. The IRPP team in my Department remains in contact with international partners to monitor the evolving Covid-19 situation and arrange further arrivals of pledged refugees.

The IRPP maintains an ongoing engagement with public health officials in Ireland concerning future resettlements in order to ensure the safety of refugees and in the interests of public health in Ireland. All those arriving are tested for the Covid-19 virus and subject to quarantine on arrival.