Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 March 2018
96. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the supports available for those with refugee status who have been approved for family reunification by his Department; the supports assisting those in emergency reception and orientation centres to move to permanent accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13426/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPersons granted international protection status (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) can access State provided supports and services on the same basis as nationals. This includes full access to the labour market, education, healthcare and social housing assistance, where the established eligibility criteria are met. Eligibility is assessed by the relevant local authority. Beneficiaries with independent means can source and provide their own private accommodation.
Persons in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs) have been admitted into the State under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP), either as resettled refugees from Lebanon or as relocated asylum seekers from Greece. The IRPP was established in 2015 as a "whole-of-Government" response to the migration crisis. An inter-Departmental Taskforce was established to implement the programme across all relevant Government Departments and services.
Under the Taskforce, a Housing Sub-Group was established to co-ordinate the provision of medium to long-term housing accommodation for the people arriving under the IRPP. The Sub-Group contains representatives from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the City and County Management Association, my own Department and the Irish Red Cross. The Sub-Group prepared an approach for resettling people arriving under the IRPP according to a series of objective criteria including the population size of the county into which they were to be resettled. The local authorities with responsibility for major urban areas, including the Dublin local authorities, are excluded from this approach due to pressure on local authority housing supply in those areas.
