More refugees to arrive in Ireland as scheme ‘operational’

Ireland will see “a significant increase” in the coming weeks and months in the numbers of migrants and refugees arriving now that the Government’s relocation programme is “fully operational”, according to the Department of Justice.

Representatives from the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) recently travelled to Greece with a view to increasing the numbers of people arriving in Ireland and reduce the timescale for their arrival, a department spokesman said. The programme was established in September 2015 in response to the refugee crisis.

A department spokesman blamed the delays on the "significant operational" and "technical issues" at migration hotspots in Greece and Italy, and the "sheer numbers involved".

“The Greek authorities have now agreed they will double the numbers available for transfer to Ireland to 40 persons every four weeks with the prospect of this number increasing further later in the year,” he said.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald announced in September 2015 that Ireland would accept up to 4,000 people as part of a co-ordinated EU response to the refugee crisis. The Government agreed to accept 2,622 asylum seekers under the scheme as well as a further 520 people under a programme with the UN.

Just 38 Syrians have arrived in Ireland out of the 2,622 asylum seekers the Government pledged to accept. These include 28 Syrians who arrived in Ireland from Greece in the past few weeks.

The Cabinet agreed earlier this month that Ireland would accept an additional 250 refugees. These people will come from refugee camps in Lebanon and will be included in the "uncommitted numbers" as part of the 4,000 people the State has committed to take in.

The IRPP is in daily contact with the Irish Red Cross which was given the task of verifying all pledges of support and accommodation for refugees last year. Just one Syrian family relocated to Ireland earlier this year has found a home through the pledge system, according to the Department of Justice.

Some 800 pledges of accommodation, goods and services across Ireland have been made to refugees.