Vol. 429 No. 4
79 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the legal status of Bosnian refugees now residing in Ireland; the support services that are being made available; and the plans, if any, he has for future admission of refugees from Bosnia.
The Government decided on 28 July 1992 to admit up to 200 refugees from the former Yugoslavia. A group of 178 arrived in Ireland on 2 September 1992 and visas have been issued to allow a further 22 immediate family members of these refugees to come to Ireland. The refugees have been given temporary protection status in Ireland, with the full rights of refugees. The refugee agency, which operates under the aegis of my Department, has primary responsibility for the co-ordination of the reception of the refugees.
The 178 refugees were accommodated at a special reception centre at the Cherry Orchard Hospital site on their arrival in Ireland. The refugee agency co-ordinated a reception programme which included specialist counselling and language training in the initial phase. In recent weeks the refugees have been moved into private rented accommodation in the Dublin area and the refugee agency is beginning the task of integrating them into the community and identifying appropriate educational and employment opportunities. The shortage of available local authority housing has dictated that the refugees be moved into private rented accommodation. In addition to receiving weekly social welfare payments they are also in receipt of a rent allowance from the Department of Social Welfare.
I am considering urgently the question of admitting additional refugees with priority being given to close relatives of those refugees who are already here. The refugee agency already has a number of requests for family reunification on hand. My Department is consulting with other Government Departments and agencies to identify the most pressing cases.
