John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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468. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland is prepared to offer asylum to Afghan academics who are at threat from the Taliban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42843/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Last month I announced, together with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, that places would be allocated to Afghan nationals under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).

The IRPP was created in 2015 as part of Ireland’s response to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe. It allows a predetermined number of people in need of international protection to be granted refugee status in Ireland. Places on the programme have been allocated to approximately 300 Afghans. Priority was given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women and girls, as well as those working with NGOs and European and international organisations.

We remain fully engaged with the situation in Afghanistan, both at UN level and at EU level, in particular focussing on the protection of the human rights of the Afghan people, and the humanitarian situation in that country. In response, Ireland has offered an additional €1 million in emergency aid to the UNHCR to support Afghan refugees and other host countries. We will continue to engage in the humanitarian response in Afghanistan at the upcoming High Level Ministerial Meeting on 13 September 2021, in Geneva.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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469. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Government is prepared to intervene to offer asylum to persons (details supplied) under direct threat from the Taliban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42849/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Last month I announced, together with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, that places would be allocated to Afghan nationals under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).

The IRPP was created in 2015 as part of Ireland’s response to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe. It allows a predetermined number of people in need of international protection to be granted refugee status in Ireland. Places on the programme have been allocated to approximately 300 Afghans. Priority was given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women and girls, as well as those working with NGOs and European and international organisations.

We remain fully engaged with the situation in Afghanistan, both at UN level and at EU level, in particular focussing on the protection of the human rights of the Afghan people, and the humanitarian situation. In response, Ireland has offered an additional €1 million in emergency aid to the UNHCR to support Afghan refugees and other host countries. We will continue to engage in the humanitarian response in Afghanistan at the upcoming High Level Ministerial Meeting on 13 September 2021, in Geneva.

In relation to the cases raised by the Deputy, I would ask that he send me on the full details, although I would emphasise that there are many more applications than places in the current programme.