Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 February 2017
72. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of refugees who have been relocated here from Greece since September 2015; the number of refugees the Government plans to relocate here from Greece in total; and when she plans to reach this target. [7833/17]
View answer73. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of interviews of refugees undertaken by Irish officials to identify refugees to relocate to Ireland that have taken place in Greece; and the number of Irish staff working on the issue in Greece. [7834/17]
View answer74. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of refugees who have been relocated here from Italy since September 2015; the number of refugees the Government plans to relocate here from Italy in total; and when she plans to reach this target. [7835/17]
View answer75. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of interviews of refugees undertaken by Irish officials to identify refugees to relocate here that have taken place in Italy; and the number of Irish staff working on the issue in Italy. [7836/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 72 to 75, inclusive, together.
The Irish Refugee Protection Programme was established by Government Decision on 10 September 2015 as a direct response to the migration crisis that had emerged on the shores of Southern Europe in previous months. The Programme, which seeks to bring in 4,000 migrants to the State, comprises two main strands - asylum seeker relocation and refugee resettlement. The Deputy's questions refer specifically to the relocation mechanism, which is underpinned by two EU Council Decisions, EU/2015/1523 and EU/2015/1601 established to assist Italy and Greece who have struggled to cope with the numbers arriving on their shores due to the migration crisis. Ireland voluntarily opted into both Council Decisions and agreed under the provisions of same to take a total of 2,622 persons - 623 from Italy, 1,089 from Greece, and 910 from a Member State yet to be determined by the Council (either Italy or Greece).
The remainder of the 4,000 are being taken into the State through a combination of refugee resettlements from Lebanon and, for example, the acceptance into the State of unaccompanied minors formerly resident at the migrant camp at Calais, France (approved by Government Decision last November).
The relocation programme is on schedule in terms of the numbers currently assigned to Ireland from Greece, with all 1,089 expected to either have already arrived, or have been assessed and accepted for arrival by the end of September 2017. There has been a total of 10 missions to Greece to carry out needs assessments, security assessments and provide orientation to those selected for relocation to Ireland. From these 10 missions a total of 320 people have arrived from Greece under relocation so far, another 78 people have been formally accepted and are awaiting transport arrangements, and a further 155 have been assessed and are awaiting clearance. A monthly schedule has been agreed with the Greek authorities which will sustain the pace of intakes throughout 2017 at the levels required to allow Ireland to meets its commitments to Greece within the time frame envisaged by the Programme.
The number of officials travelling on each mission depends to a large extent on the numbers to be assessed, however current missions assess an average of 80 persons at a time and this number typically requires three IRPP officials, three members of the Garda Síochána and, where unaccompanied minors are to be interviewed, two officials from Tusla - the Child and Family Agency.
As regards Italy, the relocation mechanism from Italy has yet to commence for many countries, including Ireland, due to issues with the Italian authorities surrounding the security assessment of migrants assigned to other Member States. Intensive efforts are ongoing to resolve this, both bilaterally with Italian counterparts at official, diplomatic and Ministerial level, and at EU level, including through the European Commission.
I wish to confirm to the Deputy the deep commitment of the Government to delivering on its decision to accept 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers, notwithstanding the difficulties that have been encountered so far which have been outside of Ireland's control.
