Justice & Equality Committee to discuss immigration and refugee crisis

The agenda for the meeting is:

Session A: 9 am Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
Session B: 10 am NASC

Committee Chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said: “Europe is facing its biggest refugee challenge since the Second World War. Over the past number of years, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants have crossed into Europe, many trying to escape ongoing conflicts in their homelands such as the war we are witnessing in Syria. Tragically, large numbers of people have not survived the perilous journey to Europe. It is a huge humanitarian challenge and many EU countries, particularly in Southern Europe, have struggled to cope with the numbers of refugees who are arriving on a daily basis. Last year, the Government established the Irish refugee protection programme, under which we agreed to accept up to 4,000 persons overall under the EU relocation and resettlement programme. Tomorrow, we will examine the immigration and refugee crisis with the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland and the Irish Immigrant Support Centre NASC. It’s an opportunity for Members to get an update on the current scale of the issue and consider how Europe and Ireland is responding to the plight of refugees.”

The meeting will take place at 9am in Committee Room 1, Leinster House, tomorrow, Wednesday, 16 November 2016.

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.

ENDS/