Ireland will "do its fair share" when it comes to taking in migrants and will "live up to its responsibilities in whatever final plan is put into effect, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said.

Speaking in Brussels, after EU foreign ministers agreed a plan to tackle people smugglers in the Mediterranean, he said there has been a very unfair burden share with 95% of the migrants being settled in five states.

He said, Ireland has taken a share already and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has agreed to double that intake.

The European Commission is working on legislation that would oblige EU nations to share the burden of housing migrants, with binding quotas based on criteria such as economic health and population.

Meanwhile, an international survey has found that Ireland ranks behind the rest of Europe in providing migrants with certain rights.

Ireland ranks 19 out of 38 countries worldwide, with the survey finding migrants living here are more likely to be cut off from family members, with family reunification the lowest in Europe.

The Migrant Integration Policy Index is considered the most comprehensive database in ranking how countries do in terms of affording rights to migrants.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has said families are being "torn apart by red tape".

Ireland's family reunion policies were described in the survey as "some of the least family-friendly in the developed world."

It said: "the small number of non-EU residents in Ireland who are separated from their family almost never reunite with them in Ireland, far below the levels in all other EU countries".

The Department of Justice and Equality has said that officials will be studying the findings of the report.

A spokesperson from the department said that at its core, Ireland's policy on family reunification "requires migrants to be able to support incoming family members without being a burden on the taxpayer and our welfare system."

The department is finalising draft legislation strategy, which will be published shortly.

The survey also found that 30% of migrants living here from outside Europe are not in work.

It believes a failure to act on these issues, will lead to 'ghettoised' communities and discrimination in the future.

However, Ireland's citizenship ceremonies have been praised, with the naturalisation process described as "world class".