Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020
596. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of proposals yet to be processed from the Irish refugee protection programme humanitarian admission programme call which ended in February 2019; if she will provide a breakdown by nationality of the sponsors and the potential beneficiaries who have yet to receive a decision, in tabular form; and the reason for the delay in making a decision on these applications. [17107/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe first round of the IRPP Humanitarian Admission Programme (IHAP) granted permission to 165 beneficiaries. To date, with respect to the second round of the IHAP (IHAP 2), approximately 255 applications have been granted in respect of 440 beneficiaries.
There are currently 80 pending applications in respect of 185 beneficiaries and it is expected that these pending applications will include both grants and refusals. The processing of applications is ongoing; however, restraints arising from the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted processing capacity as some staff were redeployed to support the wider national response.
When the IHAP was announced by my predecessor Minister Flanagan in May 2018, it was envisaged that there would be circa 530 beneficiaries. In December 2019, the allocation was increased to circa 740 beneficiaries, of which 605 have been filled. It is expected that between the pending applications and review requests, that the revised allocation of 740 beneficiaries will be reached, or possibly exceeded.
Nationality of the proposers for beneficiaries under the IHAP for which applications under the Programme are outstanding:
|
Nationality: |
Proposers: |
|
Afghan |
26 |
|
Syrian |
26 |
|
Somali |
<10 |
|
Sudanese |
<10 |
|
DRC |
<10 |
|
Eritrean |
<10 |
|
Burmese |
<10 |
|
Palestinian |
<10 |
Nationality of beneficiaries under the IHAP for which applications under the Programme are outstanding:
|
Nationality: |
Number of Beneficiaries: |
|
Afghan |
70 |
|
Syrian |
49 |
|
Somali |
22 |
|
DRC |
11 |
|
Eritrean |
<10 |
|
Burmese |
<10 |
|
Sudanese |
<10 |
