Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022
341. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice the number of refugees admitted into Ireland in each year since 2011 under the Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15563/22]
View answerIn 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.
This Programme was an additional initiative in response to the crisis in Syria and was without prejudice to other existing avenues whereby by Syrian national might lawfully enter the State, such as family reunification for the family members of refugees and persons with subsidiary protection, and the UNHCR's resettlement programme.
Applications under the SHAP programme were accepted from 14 March 2014 to 30 April 2014 and all decisions on applications were issued in that year.
In total, 84 applications were received for 307 beneficiaries. Of these, 44 applications were approved for 119 beneficiaries, with 40 applications refused in respect of 188 beneficiaries because they did not meet the criteria for the Programme.
SHAP immigration stamps were issued to 79 people who took up their SHAP immigration permissions and travelled to Ireland between 2014 and January 2017. In 2021, SHAP immigration permissions were renewed in respect of 12 beneficiaries.
Between 2011 and the end of February 2022, a total of 1,406 Syrian nationals were granted international protection under the Refugee Act 1996 (up to 2016) and the International Protection Act 2015 (from 2017).
Prior to the transfer of responsibility for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) from my Department to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on 14 October 2020, a total of 3,358 people were relocated and resettled to Ireland, the vast majority of which were Syrian nationals.
Additionally, Syrian nationals legally resident in Ireland on another immigration permission, for example as students or people with employment permits, may apply for an extension of their permission to remain in the State while the crisis situation in Syria continues.
