State will meet refugee target, says Charlie Flanagan

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has expressed concern Ireland has fallen short on its commitment to accept refugees and migrants fleeing war in Syria.

Speaking outside the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Flanagan told The Irish Times the Government was still committed to meeting the target of resettling 4,000 people escaping the violence in the Middle East and regretted the delays.

The Government is expecting to have about 870 refugees and migrants resettled by the end of the year. “I regret that it is outside of the control of the Irish Government that the reception of refugees on our part is lower than anticipated, lower than we would like. I believe it is important the bureaucratic delays that we are currently experiencing are dealt with at an early stage.”

Migrant plight

The plight of refugees and migrants was a high-priority issue at the UN for the second day as US president Barack Obama urged world leaders to make further commitments beyond a non-binding declaration approved by 193 nations on Monday to offer greater protections and aid.

Mr Obama, in his final speech to the UN, called for a “course correction” to globalisation to prevent countries retrenching behind national borders.

In thinly veiled references to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his centrepiece policy to build a wall along the Mexican border, Mr Obama issued a warning about a shift to isolationism: "A nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself."

Islamophobic sentiment

He offered a bleak outlook in his sign-off address, coming against the backdrop of a Syrian civil war, Russian and Chinese expansionism, extremist and sectarian strife in the Middle East, economic inequality and anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiment.

“This is the paradox that defines our world today,” Mr Obama said. “A quarter-century after the end of the cold war, the world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before. And yet our societies are filled with uncertainty and unease and strife.”

Mr Trump’s son Donald jnr drew scorn on social media for comparing Syrian refugees to Skittles, the multicoloured sweets, in a tweet on Monday night. Arguing the US should not accept refugees, Mr Trump posted an image of a bowl of the sweets with: “If I had a bowl of Skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”

A spokeswoman for Skittles maker Wrigley responded: “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy.”