Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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349. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the application under the humanitarian admissions programme (details supplied); if he will advise the family of these applicants that live in Ireland the best course of action to take to support their family members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52717/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Between 2021 and 2024, Ireland welcomed over 700 people who were refugees from Afghanistan through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme's Afghan Programme.

Within the remit of IRPP, a Humanitarian Admissions Programme prioritises at-risk individuals such as human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, LGBTQ+ individuals, judiciary and journalists.

For 2025, a designated partner organisation, The Open Community, was appointed by the Department to support the admission of 50 individuals under the Humanitarian Admissions programme, using a community sponsorship framework.

While the number of admissions available under the 2025 Humanitarian Admissions Programme is limited to 50, the number of applications received far exceeded that and accordingly not all applications were successful.

While I appreciate that this will have caused disappointment to those who were unsuccessful or their families, all applications submitted to my Department for consideration by our designated partner organisation under the programme were subject to review by my officials to ensure a fair process.

All unsuccessful applicants were notified of the position by the designated partner organisation, and feedback was provided where requested.