Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 June 2019
35. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of refugees Ireland has accepted under the resettlement and relocation strands of the EU relocation programme; the number of those accepted that have been found permanent accommodation; and the number that remain in reception centres. [27174/19]
View answerIn 2015, as part of Ireland's response to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe, the Government established the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). Under this programme, the Government committed to accepting up to 4,000 people into the State, primarily through a combination of the EU Relocation Programme and the UNHCR-led Refugee Resettlement Programme, which is currently focussed on resettling refugees from Lebanon and Jordan.
To date, a total of 2,519 people have arrived in Ireland under the various strands of the IRPP, 45 of whom are unaccompanied minors. An IRPP mission to Lebanon in March 2019 selected 331 refugees for resettlement to Ireland. A further mission to Jordan this July will select approximately 300 refugees. This will complete Ireland’s commitment to admit 1,985 programme refugees under the Resettlement strand of the IRPP. The remaining refugees are due to arrive in Ireland during the remainder of 2019.
The IRPP programme also includes the IRPP Humanitarian Admission Programme under which Irish citizens, programme refugees, Convention refugees and persons with subsidiary protection can apply for family members to come to Ireland where those persons are living in the top 10 refugee generating countries. 530 persons are being admitted to Ireland this year under that programme.
Of those who have arrived in Ireland to date, 1,875 persons have been provided with permanent housing by local authorities. In addition, 106 persons have been housed in accommodation through the Irish Red Cross. 9 persons are participating in the Community Sponsorship scheme which is an innovative scheme whereby local communities directly support the process of integrating refugees into their communities. Taken together, 1,995 people who arrived under the IRPP have been resettled in communities across Ireland. This represents 86% of the arrivals so far under the resettlement and relocation strands of the programme.
At present, 365 persons from the two strands of the programme are living in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs).
