Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 July 2018
72. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the resettlement of persons (details supplied) currently in Turkey will be considered under the UN resettlement programme due to their particular vulnerability further to correspondence signed on a cross-party basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29649/18]
View answerAs I stated in my replies to the Deputy in Parliamentary Questions 72 of 23 May 2018 and 52 of 6 February 2018 and also 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.
