The Minister for Justice has described a voluntary return programme for displaced persons, refugees and migrants as a "humane and dignified option" for asylum-seekers who wished to return to their countries of origin.
Mr O'Donoghue was speaking at the opening of the Irish office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Marlborough Street, Dublin, yesterday.
The IOM is undertaking the voluntary return programme on behalf of the Department of Justice. The Minister said the new programme would allow the payment of air fares where necessary.
The IOM is an inter-governmental organisation, established in 1951, for the resettlement of displaced persons. Ireland has observer status in the IOM and preparations are being made for full membership. "I hope that this will become a reality in the near future," the Minister said.
The IOM director general, Mr Brunson McKinley, said that as well as day-to-day migration problems, the IOM was also involved in emergencies such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and East Timor.
A former US diplomat, Mr McKinley was in Afghanistan last week. He described it as "the largest existing crisis" because of the sheer quantity of refugees and internally displaced persons generated by the conflicts over 22 years.
On the overall situation, he said: "We don't know for certain how many other pockets of such people there may be in the country that we have not had access to. But - and this is what has changed - with the demise of the Taliban in three-quarters of Afghanistan, we now will have access to the different parts of the country.
"People who may be stranded in pockets around the country will be able to go to the cities and get help or, better, if possible we will be able to identify those pockets and bring the help by air and by road to them.
"So I think if we jump on this and work hard for a month, there is at least a chance that the international community will be able to identify and assist all of the internally displaced and we can be pretty sure that few people will freeze and starve this winter because of neglect. I think it can be done," Mr McKinley said.