The Department for Justice and Equality has announced that Ireland will welcome refugee families from Greece following their displacement from the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos due to the recent fire that destroyed the camp.
Up to fifty people in family groups will be brought to Ireland and resettled under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme.
Upon their arrival in Ireland, it is intended that the Department of Justice and Equality will grant ‘programme refugee’ status to the families, who have previously been granted an international protection status by the Greek authorities. Officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, along with An Garda Síochána, will travel to Greece in the coming weeks to make the arrangements.
The commitment to resettle families from Greece follows an announcement made by the government on 17 September that it will relocate four unaccompanied minors from Greece into the care of Tusla.
More than 3,350 people have arrived in the State under the first phase of the IRPP. A second phase of the programme was announced in December 2019, giving a commitment to welcome a further 2,900 refugees between 2020 and 2023.
For more information, see;
- National statuses granted for protection reasons in Ireland: EMN Ireland report
- Ireland’s response to recent trends in international protection applications: EMN Ireland report
