Some 90 programmed refugees are to be admitted for permanent resettlement in Ireland this year, it has emerged.
This will bring to a total of 1,064 the number of refugees allowed to permanently live in Ireland since 2000, when Ireland’s UNHCR-led programme was established.
In a statement, the Department of Justice’s Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI) says some of the 90 people – who are from different nationalities and backgrounds, and have been granted permission to permanently live in Ireland for various reasons – have already arrived.
They include a family of four from Syria with “a serious medical case” who were resettled by OPMI in last July.
“In total, this year, we have admitted two serious medical cases and their families from various parts of the world for permanent resettlement in Ireland and a further two serious medical cases are expected to arrive in the coming weeks,” the office says.
“We also admitted 10 persons under international protection in Malta in July 2013 as part of a burden sharing exercise bringing the total admitted from Malta to date to 40 persons since 2007.”
At present, the OPMI says it is expecting the arrival of 59 programmed refugees, including a group of 29 refugees from DR Congo who are currently in a refugee camp in Tanzania.
And some 30 vulnerable people are also expected from Syria “under an EU-funded emergency resettlement programme for permanent resettlement in Ireland.”
The OPMI says preparations for the Syrians’ arrival have been “underway for some months and we expect them to arrive in Ireland within weeks.
“It should be noted that the above figures do not include the number of Syrian refugees given sanctuary in Ireland under the asylum system.”
