This motion concerns a proposal by the European Commission for a Council decision to establish a second phase of the European Refugee Fund for the period 2005 to 2010. The likely allocation to Ireland over this period will be in the region of €12 million, almost a trebling of the current allocation. Under Article 3 of the Fourth Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam, Ireland has three months from the date of the proposal to notify the President of the Council of the European Union that it wishes to take part in the adoption and application of this proposal. The proposal was submitted by the EU Commission to Council on 16 February 2004, which is why the matter is before this committee today.
The European Refugee Fund was first established through a Council decision in September 2000, its purpose being to encourage and support member states' efforts in receiving and bearing the consequences of receiving refugees and displaced persons. The decision establishing the first phase of the fund, which runs from 2000 until the end of 2004, identified three distinct measures under which applications for funding could be sought: reception, such as addressing special needs of traumatised persons and victims of violence; integration, such as assistance in the areas of housing or health care and voluntary repatriation, such as training and assistance towards resettlement in country of origin.
Member states' allocations were made on an annual basis and are based primarily on the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees arriving in the those states. Ireland has been allocated a total of €4.2 million from the first phase of the fund. I understand members of the committee have been provided with details of the recipients of funding from the fund. Member states must also appoint a responsible authority to administer the fund. In Ireland's case, this is the reception and integration agency of my Department.
Under the first phase of the fund, organisations are invited on an annual basis to apply for funding for projects under the three aforementioned measures. This invitation is issued by the reception and integration agency by way of a call for proposals advertised in the national press. Applications received after the deadline or which do not meet eligibility criteria set out in the guidelines accompanying the call for proposals are not put forward for selection. The eligibility criteria used at that stage of the process are based on the criteria set out in the Council decision that established the fund.
Those projects which enter the selection process proper are then subject to a pre-vetting exercise whereby a number of officials from my Department attached to the reception and integration agency assess the proposals with a view to preparing a shortlist for final selection. The final stage of the selection process is conducted by a selection committee made up of Government and non-governmental representatives. Among the selection criteria used to assess applications are: the extent to which the proposal meets the needs and requirements in Ireland under the three measures; cost-effectiveness and value for money; the experience and track record of the organisation; the capacity of the organisation to deliver the goals set out in the proposal; the sustainability of the proposed actions; the need to avoid duplication in terms of geography and the nature of the service proposed; and the extent to which the proposed action complements EU and national policy on asylum seekers and refugees.
Under the provisions of the Council decision establishing the first phase of the fund, up to 75% of project expenditure can be met through the fund. Traditionally, most of the remaining 25% of co-financing has come from within the NGO community. From 2000 to 2003, more than €3 million of Ireland's total allocation under the first phase was awarded to 49 different projects. A sum of €1.3 million was awarded to 17 projects under the reception measure, €1.6 million to 30 projects under the integration measure and €200,000 to two projects under the voluntary return measure. Individual awards ranged from €3,000 to €150,000, the latter being in respect of the setting up of a care and rehabilitation centre for survivors of torture in Phibsborough, Dublin, by the Spiritan Asylum Seeker Initiative, SPIRASI.
That the majority of projects funded during the first phase of the fund were integration projects rather than projects in the field of reception reflects the fact that the reception needs of asylum seekers, such as accommodation, food and health care, are already provided for by the Government's policy of direct provision which has been implemented by the reception and integration agency since 2000.
The selection process for 2004 is under way, with 39 projects seeking an allocation of just over €900,000. Early indications are that the majority of proposals will, once again, be in the field of integration.
During the first three years, funding has been allocated to a wide range of organisations, including well-established groups like the Irish Refugee Council and the Immigrant Council of Ireland, as well as smaller ethnic minority-led organisations such as the African Refugee Network and the African Solidarity Centre.
Let us consider typical actions that have been funded under the three measures. Under the reception measure, funding has gone to projects aimed at: providing care and rehabilitation for asylum seekers who have been victims of violence, rape and torture or who may be traumatised from having come from a region of conflict; the setting up of drop-in centres to provide information and support to asylum seekers at a local community level; and projects aimed at addressing the particular needs of women and young mothers.
Under the integration measure a wide range of activities has been funded through the European Refugee Fund, including: provision of language supports; targeting the housing needs of refugees; provision of information and support to those refugees seeking further education, vocational training or recognition of their qualifications; provision of legal advice; provision of health services including information and practical assistance to sufferers of AIDS and TB and young single mothers; and co-ordination of integration services through links with smaller organisations.
Under the voluntary repatriation measure, limited expertise is available at a national level although two projects undertaken by the International Organisation for Migration have received funding through the fund. These projects were aimed specifically at providing information and assistance in the voluntary return of unaccompanied minors and persons from the former CIS countries.
The Commission's proposal for a second phase of the fund aims to build on the experiences and successes of the first phase. Following exhaustive consultation by the Commission with all relevant parties, the new proposal seeks to be more strategic in its approach. From an EU perspective, the fund is one of a number of strategic measures geared to the development of an overall common asylum policy and is biased towards obtaining as much added value as possible at both national and international levels.
The main changes being implemented in the new proposal are as follows: a move from annual programming to multi-annual programming, allowing funding to be granted to a project for up to three years running, facilitating a more strategic approach to the utilisation of the fund; development of common guidelines for use by all member states in developing their national multi-annual programme for distribution of the fund; simplification of management procedures carried out on an annual basis; a fixed amount of €500,000 for the ten new member states, on top of the allocation based on numbers of asylum seekers and refugees, so they may meet the challenge of becoming the new borders of Europe - many of the new member states have little or no infrastructure in place to handle the consequences of receiving asylum seekers and refugees; and a threefold increase in the overall level of funding over the period 2005 to 2010. Subject to approval of the EU budgetary committee, the indicative financial allocations suggest up to €670 million will be made available for the second phase compared to €216 million in the first.
Opting into this proposal will continue to provide a welcome source of financial resources which will be distributed at a local community level to complement the State's efforts in receiving and accommodating asylum seekers, assisting in the integration of those persons with refugee status or leave to remain and assisting those persons who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin. As Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I am strongly of the view that it is important that Ireland respond positively to the tabling of this proposal for a second phase by exercising its right under the fourth protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam, to take part in its adoption and application.