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Ireland pledges €15.5 million to UNHCR for 2020

Ireland has committed to a new refugee protection programme, and will give shelter to 2,900 people over the next four years.

The resettlement agreement with the UNHCR and EU will be backed by €9 million in funding from the European Commission.

Pledge

Ireland has also pledged €15.5 million to UNHCR for 2020.

Ireland’s development policy, A Better World, commits to providing 0.7 per cent of gross national income in official development assistance by 2030.

The 2,900 refugees will arrive in Ireland between 2020 and 2023 through a combination of resettlement and community sponsorship.

Under the plans, a new phase of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) will see 650 UNHCR resettlements in 2020; 700 in 2021; 750 in 2022; and 800 in 2023.

Syrians

The arrivals for the first two years will largely comprise Syrian refugees, resident in Jordan and Lebanon, along with a pilot group of 150 Eritrean refugees, resident in Ethiopia.

Justice minister Charlie Flanagan said: “The humanitarian situation in a number of regions around the world remains particularly acute. In Syria alone, there are over 11 million people, including six million children, that are desperate for help.

“It is only right and proper that Ireland plays its part and offers a helping hand to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Integrated

Speaking at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva yesterday, Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration David Stanton said: “We want to ensure that refugees who arrive in Ireland feel fully integrated into the community.

“That is why we want to expand our community sponsorship programme as it enables everyday people to support refugees, and to extend hands of friendship and welcome to them when they arrive in Ireland.

“I invite communities and citizens all over the country who want to assist refugee peoples and families to consider the newly launched community sponsorship programme, and to set up groups in their own areas.

Strands

Under the IRPP, established in September 2015, Ireland committed to accept 4,000 people under various strands, including the EU Relocation Mechanism, and UNHCR-led Resettlement Programme.

As of 17 December, a total of 3,151 have arrived under the IRPP, including 51 refugees who arrived this week.

Under the EU relocation strand, now complete, 1,022 people were relocated to Ireland.

Under the UNHCR-led resettlement strand, a commitment was made to resettle 1,985 people, of which 1,858 resettlements have been completed.

Beirut

A further 55 will arrive by the end of the month, with a balance of 72 to be resettled, and civil servants will travel to Beirut early in 2020 to finalise processes in relation to these 72.

Under the IRPP Humanitarian Admission Programme 2018/19, a commitment was made to admit 740 family members of refugees, of which 159 people have arrived.

Under other mechanisms (search-and-rescue missions, unaccompanied minors from Greece, and the Calais special project), a commitment was made to admit 253 people, of which 112 have arrived.

Housing

Community Sponsorship Ireland (CSI) is an alternative form of accommodation for refugees, offering access to housing and state services.

Five refugee families (17 people in total) have been have been settled in Cork, Waterford and Meath. 

Two further families were received by host communities in Kildare and Dublin this month, with another family expected to be received by the Kinsale Community Sponsorship group in the coming days.