Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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708. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people that have availed of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme; the total cost to the State each year for the programme; the cost of the support that each refugee receives in total; and the cost on average for each person, since its inception, broken down by year and country of origin [25927/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is a key part of Ireland’s response to the global humanitarian migration crisis in central and southern Europe. Since it was established in 2015, the IRPP has supported more than 4,500 refugees to resettle in Ireland.

People are referred to the IRPP by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) after they have been granted refugee status under the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention.

They are then brought to Ireland for resettlement, following a joint IRPP/An Garda Síochána selection mission held in their first country of asylum.

This makes it different from the international protection application process available to people who make their own way to Ireland and apply for international protection, and to the temporary protection process available to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to arrivals under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme is set out in the table below.

Arrivals under the programme have been through resettlement, which has primarily concentrated on Syrian nationals up to this point, and separately the humanitarian admission of Afghan nationals arising from the Taliban takeover in 2021.

A whole of Government approach to Irish resettlement is in place, whereby multiple Departments collaborate to ensure the effective long term integration of the resettled refugees.

Upon arrival, the refugees are generally accommodated in Reception and Orientation Centres provided by my Department to facilitate initial orientation and access to services for their welfare.

Adults are provided with English language lessons and children attend local primary and post-primary schools. This period of orientation provides them with an opportunity to access necessary basic services in advance of their resettlement within the wider community.

Services such as education and health are mainstreamed and IRPP beneficiaries have the same access to State supports as an Irish resident.

Please see below a combined costs for the last five years for Ireland’s three Reception and Orientation Centres (ROCs).

It is not possible to provide a breakdown of cost by country of origin as requested by the Deputy.

Please note that wider costs of services provided to resettled refugees by other public services, like healthcare and education, are not available as services are mainstreamed.