Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 May 2018
72. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will reconsider contacting the UNHCR in Turkey on behalf of persons (details supplied) with a view to offering them resettlement here as per the cross-party letter sent to his Department on 17 May 2018. [22639/18]
View answerAs I previously stated in my reply to Deputy Boyd Barrett in Parliamentary Question 52 of 6 February 2018 and in recent correspondence, there are established and successful pathways for resettlement in Ireland. While Ireland participates in a resettlement programme led by the UNHCR, it is the UNHCR which assesses each case and makes a referral to a participating State. The selection of resettlement applicants by Ireland requires a detailed consideration of case files received from UNHCR as well as personal interviews, orientation and security assessments. Ireland has received no such referral in relation to this family from UNHCR and it should be noted that Ireland does not have a resettlement programme in Turkey.
While I appreciate the vulnerability of the family who are the subject of the cross-party Deputies' request, Ireland cannot resettle people in response to one-off requests of this nature as this would potentially disadvantage the refugees who have fulfilled objective criteria to qualify for the refugee programme. Ireland must take care to respect the integrity of the UNHCR decision making process, which is based on objective criteria and standard operating procedures intended to ensure the transparent, consistent and fair treatment of people in need. Ireland must also operate within the parameters of our own resettlement programme which is both demanding and exacting. As I have already said, Ireland does not have a resettlement programme in Turkey. Other countries may have such a programme in place and may be in a position to consider a request from UNHCR favourably.
