Ireland will allow the 4,000 refugees coming here to work.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton says their applications for asylum will be fast-tracked by a new agency to be set up as part of a range of measures announced today.

The first groups of between 50 and 100 refugees will begin to arrive within weeks.

Minister Burton says they will be processed as soon as possible.

She said: "The intention is to have a process that will be fast-tracked. We will expect that a lot ofpeople will be in a position to find work.

"To do that, obviously you need English langiage skills, but you also need to be in a position to work, and the people in this case will be once the reception and orientation process is completed."

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the Minister of State with special responsibility for Equality, New Communities, Culture and Drugs Strategy said the 4,000 figure, agreed by the Cabinet this morning, is likely to grow when family reunifications are taken into account.

Mr Ó Ríordáin says he believes the Government's response is in line with what people want.

He said: "The flatline number was about 1,100 a couple of days ago, that flatline number is now 4,000.

"But just to make clear that as time elapses and entitlement to family reunification happens, that number will grow.

"So, 4,000 is basically the baseline number which has obviously increased from the 1,100 we were talking about a few days ago."

The Defence Minister Simon Coveney says Ireland is taking in more refugees than Europe will ask for, because Ireland wants to show its generousity.

Minister Coveney said the Government wanted to show example in this.

He said: "We made a decision to go beyond what we are likely to be asked to do by the European Commission.

"That is because we want to be more generous than what the commission may have asked us to be, so that we can give an international example.

"Not every country in the European Union unfortunatley looks as if they are going to accept refugees to relocate and to resettle them."