Cork County Council has invited tenders from voluntary and community organisations to support the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the county over the next two years.

The tender process is open for the next three weeks, with the local authority stating that "the main objective of this initiative is to support recently arrived refugees who will be resettled in the Cork area."

According to the tender document: "Cork County Council has been requested to act as the lead agency supporting the resettlement of refugees in Cork. The resettlement will be steered and monitored by a local resettlement interagency working group that includes representatives from statutory, voluntary and community groups. This project is funded by the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration and the European Union.

"This invitation is a call for tenders from voluntary and community groups with experience of working in partnership with local service providers in the provision of services to vulnerable communities. It is intended that the project will run provisionally from May 2019 to April 2021."

The value of the tender is placed at €280,000 and those behind the winning tender will be expected to partner with Cork County Council to support the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the county.

The responsibilities include:

- recruiting resettlement support workers to act as the point of contact for the Syrian community

- ongoing support and supervision of the resettlement support workers and intercultural workers in the implementation of their duties

- developing a range of initiatives to promote the resettlement and integration of refugees at a local level.

- training local volunteers who will assist with the refugees in the long term

- recording any issues that arise and working in partnership with local service providers to support the inclusion of the refugees in mainstream services.

The tender states: "The Housing Support Service(s) will be commissioned to cover the County Cork area."

Settlement of Syrians under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme in Ballaghaderreen was largely successful although the contract there expired last December.

The government's efforts to widen its base of Direct Provision centres hit difficulty with arson attacks at sites of proposed DP in Rooskey in Co Roscommon and in Moville in Co Donegal.