More than 350 refugees accommodated in Govt programme

The Department of Justice says that 358 people are being accommodated in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres

More than 350 people are currently accommodated in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs), according to latest figures from the Department of Justice.

In September 2015, the Government agreed to accept up to 4,000 asylum seekers and refugees under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme at the earliest time possible.

The programme was established by Government as a direct response to the humanitarian crisis that developed in southern Europe as a consequence of mass migration from areas of conflict in the Middle East and Africa.

Latest figures from the Department of Justice show that 358 people are being accommodated in EROCs, which are located in counties Waterford, Kildare and Roscommon.

To date, 2,152 asylum seekers and refugees have been admitted to Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, by way of relocation from Greece under the EU Relocation programme (1,022 asylum seekers) or Resettlement from Lebanon under the UNHCR-led resettlement programme (1,130 programme refugees).

Relocation and resettlement have mainly focused on Syrian families displaced by the conflict.

The Department of Justice has said this evening that despite best efforts, it was not possible to relocate asylum seekers from Italy, due to a refusal by the Italian authorities to allow An Garda Síochána to carry out security assessments of relocation candidates on its soil.

Under the resettlement strand of the programme, an additional 226 refugees have been selected and will be arriving in Ireland from Lebanon in the next few weeks.

An additional 600 refugees will be selected for resettlement in 2019 with missions taking place in Lebanon in March and in Jordan this summer.

To date 1,832 people have been resettled in communities across Ireland constituting 85% of the people that have arrived under Relocation or Resettlement.

Forty-one unaccompanied minors under the Calais Special Project have been welcomed to Ireland according to the department and there has been a pledge to accept up to 36 unaccompanied minors from Greece this year "in a gesture of solidarity".

Ireland has also offered to take five unaccompanied minors from Malta as part of the most recent solidarity effort for migrants disembarked in Malta.

Tusla has statutory responsibility for the care of unaccompanied minors in the State.