Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
146. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the specific outcomes and deliverables achieved by a charity (details supplied) since it was asked to co-ordinate public pledges of support under the Irish refugee protection programme; and the funding which has been provided to date to the charity for this purpose. [19779/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Autumn 2015, the Irish Red Cross, on foot of a Government decision, was tasked by the Department of Justice and Equality with managing voluntary pledges of accommodation, goods and services from the Irish Public in the effort to house migrants under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). A Register requesting public pledges went live on the Irish Red Cross website (www.redcross.ie) in late September 2015 to collate offers of housing from the public.
As the Deputy is aware, due to operational difficulties in Italy and Greece, the relocation programme was slow to commence all over the EU and significant numbers of asylum seekers did not begin to arrive in Ireland until late 2016. Persons in the relocation programme must then have their application for asylum determined which takes around 12 weeks. It has therefore only been in the last number of months that the numbers of refugees emerging from the relocation programme and available for settlement in communities around Ireland has reached significant numbers. This number currently stands are 198 and is rapidly increasing. Most of these refugees will receive accommodation in communities around Ireland through the long established resettlement model run in cooperation with the local authority and funded by my Department. This model provides for a range of local supports including the appointment by the local authority of a resettlement worker/s. However, other refugees will also be offered pledged accommodation and services through the Irish Red Cross with the intention of assisting them to move more speedily out of Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs) into local communities.
The first relocation group arrived in Ireland in January 2016. Over the last 12 months the Department of Justice and Equality has been working closely with the Irish Red Cross and during this time the Irish Red Cross has been engaged in a programme of planning and coordination, learning valuable lessons from previous resettlement projects, through engagement with institutions, community groups and Red Cross Movement Partners implementing similar projects in the EU.
The Irish Red Cross as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has played an integral role providing a range of vital and lifesaving supports to millions of migrants along the migration trail from Syria, the Middle East and across Europe. The emblem of the Red Cross is a familiar and trusted sign of humanity and impartiality to many migrants entering Ireland. Almost without exception those who arrive in Ireland under the relocation programme will have encountered members of the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement on their journey to Ireland. The role of the Irish Red Cross in providing support at the point of entry in Ireland, supporting resettlement, family tracing, day to day supports at local levels is fundamental to the success of welcoming and creating a sustainable and stable living environment for those seeking refuge.
The Irish Red Cross received just over 700 pledges of accommodation across 27 counties in Ireland. Of this figure, the Irish Red Cross currently have 360 active shared accommodation offers, 120 active vacant stand-alone premises and 220 premises that are on hold, either not currently available or not meeting criteria.
The Irish Red Cross is researching formal processes to secure housing and are engaged in a rigorous housing assessments focusing on 120 vacant stand-alone pledges as part of Phase 1. Individual property inspections have assessed the suitability and appropriateness of these premises against a number of safety and situational criteria. Once a property is approved as suitable for housing, the Irish Red Cross are facilitating regulatory agreements with property owners and fitting out the properties to a minimum required standard.
The Irish Red Cross has been working closely with the IRPP and those who have received refugee status to understand the specific needs and requirements of families and individuals. With this in mind, placing refugees in any accommodation must take into account a range of personal and social requirements to support connectedness with Irish societal systems for both refugees and local communities and to respect the wishes and cultural aspirations of refugees. One of the significant challengers in terms of programme design is ensuring that the level of support available to those placed in pledged accommodation is broadly similar to that which pertains under the standard resettlement model. In addition, many offers of pledged accommodation are time limited which means that refugees will need to move from their pledged accommodation at some point and be placed in alternative accommodation within the community. This will require careful management to ensure that the ongoing needs of the refugees are met. Currently there are a number of families and individuals who have gained refugee status and of this number the Irish Red Cross are currently placing over 30 clients in pledged accommodation in May and have already placed three families in new homes. The Irish Red Cross are continuing the wrapping around of social supports linking with official Ireland and encouraging participation and engagement with local communities.
The Irish Red Cross has been working with the IRPP in the rigorous development of the ‘migration programme’ which has multidimensional outputs by managing the following activities:
- Providing in-kind supports to Syrian families at the air side point of entry working alongside the IRPP and the International Organisation for Migration. To date, the Irish Red Cross has provided supports to over 382 people arriving on flights into Ireland.
- Providing support to migrants to secure medium to long term accommodation in Ireland under the pledged system and/or private rental market.
- Facilitating and connecting refugees with necessary social supports and services in Ireland and at community level. (Education, Health, Social Welfare, Employment, English Language Support).
- Scaling up the Red Cross volunteer network at county level to support community integration activities; the Irish Red Cross is currently recruiting over 300 volunteers nationwide to support community level integration over the next 24 months and beyond.
- Developing and carrying out training on cultural awareness issues and psycho-social supports.
- Contributing as a member of Irish Refugee Protection Programme Task force - a cross-departmental and inter-agency Taskforce.
- Supporting Family Reunification Travel Assistance and Restoring Family Links for 315 cases in 2015 and 257 cases in 2016.
- Scaling up activities in preparation including holding informative regional meetings with its members, pledgers and local NGOs.
- IRC is also engaging in dialogue with local authorities and department of housing discussing the possibilities of utilising Housing Assistance Programme (HAP).
I also understand that the Irish Red Cross is developing a Customer Relationship Management Service which supports the ability to collate all data on pledges and casework in a central location, protecting personal data. The CRM system also supports accurate reporting enabling the service user, the Irish Red Cross and the IRPP to identify clear and concise outputs and indicators.
In 2015/2016 the Irish Red Cross received a total of €180,345 from my Department. This year the amount made available will increase in order to scale up the placement of clients in pledged accommodation together with supporting services. I anticipate that the amount made available for these purposes over the course of 2017 will be approximately €500,000. The purpose of the increased sum is to ensure the placement of larger numbers of refugees in pledged accommodation around the State in order to supplement the existing model of resettlement. It is my intention that this model will be reviewed over the coming twelve months to see how the lessons learned can be applied more broadly, both operationally and in terms of future policy development.
