Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
462. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria who may arrive here; if she is aware of the position of the Circassian minority group; and if she has received any representations on their behalf. [28801/15]
View answerOn 13 May 2015, the European Commission published an EU Agenda for Migration. The Commission proposed the establishment of an EU-wide resettlement scheme to offer 20,000 resettlement places by the end of 2016. Under the new resettlement scheme, specific numbers would be allocated to all Member States, calculated on the basis of a distribution key based on GDP, size of population, unemployment rate and past numbers of asylum seekers and of resettled refugees. The distribution key would also take account of the efforts already made on a voluntary basis by Member States. The Commission's calculation envisaged Ireland accepting 272 persons over the 2015/2016 period.
Ireland has already committed to accept 220 persons over the 2015/16 period. In response to the Commission's proposals the Government agreed to accept an additional 300 persons bringing the total to be admitted to 520 persons by the end of 2016, well above the figure suggested by the European Commission. Ireland is one of 27 States that participate in a refugee resettlement programme led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The focus of the Irish resettlement programme in recent years has been on the resettlement of refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict who are living in one of the hosting countries in the region, for example those living in Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey. Internally displaced persons, such as the Circassians in Syria, are not eligible for resettlement under this resettlement programme. NGOs working in cooperation with the UNHCR at a local level identify the most vulnerable persons for resettlement, regardless of their race, religion, nationality or ethnicity.
Resettlement is just one of a suite of responses to persons displaced by the Syrian conflict. In 2014, Ireland introduced a Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme (SHAP). The SHAP offered naturalised Irish citizens of Syrian birth and Syrian nationals already legally resident in Ireland an opportunity to make an application for vulnerable close family members to join them in Ireland for up to two years under a sponsorship programme. These are persons who are considered by their sponsoring family member present in Ireland to be most at risk. 114 beneficiaries have been granted admission under the programme. In addition, Syrians legally resident in Ireland, for example, students or persons on work permissions may apply for an extension of their permission to remain in the State while the crisis situation continues. I am informed by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) that 17 applications for refugee status were received from Syrian nationals in the first 6 months of 2015. Information is not maintained on the number of applications for refugee status received from members of the Circassian minority group.
