Developments at national level
- Department of Education and Skills launched a Public Consultation on Advancing School Autonomy in Ireland. The closing date for submissions is 29 January 2016.
- Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD attended meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers where agreement on proposals for an EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive has been reached (4 December 2015).
- Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD announced additional capital funding of €4million for 2016, in order to allow support Ireland’s participation in the Schengen Information System (SIS II).
- Statement by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD on publication of International Protection Bill 2015 – Second Stage.
- Garda launched operation tackling facilitators of sham marriages and illegal immigration.
- Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD welcomed Valletta Declaration and Action Plan in response to the migration crisis.
Reports/Publications
- New EMN Ireland publication, Determining Labour and Skills Shortages and the Need for Labour Migration in Ireland, shows that the non-EU employment permits system increasingly responds to labour market information.
- Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) launched All Work and Low Pay: The Experience of Migrants Working in Ireland.
- Ruhama launched 2014 Annual Report.
- Cairde published a report Ethnic Minorities and Mental Health in Ireland: Barriers and Recommendations 2015.
- Irish Refugee Council launched a practical guide on providing early legal advice for people in the asylum process.
Statistics/Figures
- CSO figures show that over one-third of non-Irish nationals assigned PPSNs were working during 2014.
Newsletters
- Ruhama newsletter Autumn 2015.
- Anti-Human Trafficking Unit newsletter October 2015.
Event proceedings
- 27 November 2015: Download presentations from Conference on Making labour migration work: Identifying skills shortages and attracting migrant workers as part of the solution, organised by EMN Ireland and Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Dublin.
18 September 2015
Developments at national level
- Department of Justice and Equality has announced that Ireland will accept approximately 4,000 persons in need of international protection overall under Resettlement & Relocation Programmes. 600 persons will be relocated in the coming months. It was agreed to establish an ‘Irish Refugee Protection Programme’ for persons seeking international protection.
- Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) announced changes to the application for permission to remain in the State on the basis of parentage of an Irish citizen child effective from 1 October 2015.
- Department of Justice and Equality has reviewed progress on the civilianisation of frontline immigration control procedures at Dublin Airport.
- Department of Defence has committed to continuing the deployment of Naval Service vessels to the Mediterranean, assisting the Italian authorities in humanitarian search and rescue operations.
- The Highly Skilled Occupations List has been updated following an amendment to the Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2015.
- New civil registration legislation has been introduced in the form of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 by the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, gives marriage Registrars new powers to prevent marriage for immigration purposes only.
Reports/Publications
- New EMN Ireland report Business Migration to Ireland explores the measures in place to attract immigrant investors and entrepreneurs and other business persons from non-EU countries to Ireland.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality published the Interim Report on Pre-legislative Scrutiny Report of the General Scheme of the International Protection Bill.
- Draft of the Second National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in Ireland was published for consultation in June 2015.
- Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission published Awareness of and Attitudes to Human Rights and Equality (poll conducted by Red C).
- Law Society of Ireland and the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association (DSBA) published a report on the Application of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights: Evaluation and Review.
- Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) published its Annual Report 2014.
Statistics/Figures
- CSO released the latestPopulation and Migration Estimates. Estimates show that the number of non-Irish arriving in Ireland has increased, while the number of Irish leaving has decreased. Net migration remains negative (-11,600).
Newsletters
- Ruhama newsletter August 2015.
- Nasc newsletter July 2015.
Events
- 18 September 2015: ‘Changing Ireland, Changing Law’ series: Immigration, Asylum & Legal Change in Ireland, DIT Aungier Street campus, Dublin
- 9-10 October 2015: 18th UCD Irish European Law Forum – Europe’s Shared Burden: Collective Responsibility for Migrants at Sea, An Interdisciplinary Conference, UCD Sutherland School of Law, Dublin
- 27 November 2015: Advance Conference Notice: Making labour migration work: Identifying skills shortages and attracting migrant workers as part of the solution, organised by EMN Ireland and Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Dublin.
- 13 November 2015: Conference on Durable Solutions for Separated Children in Europe
15 July 2015
Developments at national level
- The Department of Justice and Equality published a report of the Working Group on the Protection Process including Direct Provision and supports to asylum seekers.
- Minister Fitzgerald discussed international terrorism, security and migration with EU Ministers.
- New figures released by Eurostat show Ireland granted citizenship to 24,263 persons in 2013.
- Full details in relation to applications for inclusion in the Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) for providers of services to international students are now available. Applications will be accepted up to close of business on 20 July 2015.
- Supreme Court overturns High Court judgment in Mohammed Younis case which relates to employment rights abuses in the context of irregular migration.
Reports/Publications
- New poll carried out on behalf of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) finds that the Irish public support a regularisation option for undocumented migrants in Ireland.
- Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) published a new research report Wellbeing and School Experiences among 9- and 13-Year-Olds: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study.
- Immigrant Council of Ireland launched a new research report entitled Voices of Young Migrant Men.
- National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) published a conference report on return migration entitled Home is Where the Heart is.
- Migrant Rights Centre Ireland launched a film entitled Young, Paperless and Powerful about undocumented teenagers.
- Immigrant Council of Ireland published a manifesto An Equal Ireland for All.
- Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) launched a research report, Out of the Shadows: Legislating for Hate Crime in Ireland commissioned from researchers at the University of Limerick’s Hate and Hostility Research Group.
- Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) published its Annual Report 2014.
- Refugee Appeals Tribunal published its Annual Report 2014.
- Courts Services published its Annual Report 2014.
- Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) launched its Annual Report 2014.
- Comhlámh published its Annual Report 2014.
Newsletter
- Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) Newsletter – June 2015.
- NASC Newsletter – May / June 2015.
Events
- 28 July 2015: The Children’s Rights Alliance and the Law Centre for Children and Young People will launch Making Rights Real for Children: A Children’s Rights Audit of Irish Law – email: [email protected] for details.
11 June 2015
Developments at national level
- An Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP) in relation to higher education and professional English language courses has been introduced as part of series of reforms to the student immigration system for international education.
- New arrangements have been introduced for locum doctors under the Atypical Working Scheme effective from 2 June 2015
- Department for Justice and Equality launched a new-look website: www.justice.ie.
- Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald T.D. has responded to the new measures proposed by the European Commission’s European Agenda on Migration by agreeing to accept an additional 300 migrants for resettlement. Ireland has already committed to resettling 220 people, mainly Syrian, up to end 2016. The commitment on resettlement is a part of the Irish Government’s response to the crisis in the Mediterranean, which also includes sending a naval vessel the LE Eithne to the Mediterranean to assist with search and rescue operations.
Reports/Publications
- The Children’s Rights Alliance published a report ‘Picture Your Rights’ on what life is like for children and young people in Ireland.
- Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) launched a paper on ‘Childcare in the Domestic Work Sector: Who’s Minding the Children?’
- The Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Migrant Integration Policy Index (Mipex) launched the MIPEX report for Ireland.
- Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission submission to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Events
- 15 June 2015: The Irish Refugee Council and the European Youth in Migration Forum will mark World Refugee Week with a launch of a project: ‘My Comment Number 6’ in the European Parliament Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
- 15-19 June 2015: Annual International Criminal Court Summer School organised by The Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway.
- 19 June 2015: Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre will hold a garden party to mark World Refugee Day 2015.
- 26 June 2015: Spirasi are hosting an event in celebration of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, in St. Mary’s Senior College Rathmines. Email [email protected] for further information.
- 3-4 July 2015: A two-panel workshop on The EU and the Southern Mediterranean co-hosted by the ISS21 Migration and Integration Cluster and Department of French will place in University College Cork (UCC). To register, go to: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-eu-and-the-southern-mediterranean-tickets-17152546729.
8 May 2015
Developments at national level
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- Minister for Defence, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D. committed to send a naval vessel to assist in the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean.
- Peter Sutherland, the UN Special Representative, H.E. Mr. Giovanni Adorni Braccesi Chiassi, the Italian Ambassador to Ireland, and Brian Killoran, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland met with the Oireachtas EU Affairs Committee to discuss European Migration Policy and Current Situation in Mediterranean Sea.
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD, attended an extraordinary joint meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers and EU Home Affairs Ministers called in response to recent tragic events in the Mediterranean.
- Revised arrangements with regard to subsidiary protection applications have been put in place by ORAC, in light of the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in the case of H. N. v. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ireland and the Attorney General, the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013) amended by the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 137 of 2015).
Reports/Publications
- The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions have published a report on Ireland’s Direct Provision system.
- Doras Luimní launched a new report No Chances, No Choices on human trafficking and migrant prostitution case work.
- NASC have developed an Anti-Racism Training Pack for Schools.
- The ESRI has published a research bulletin on Discrimination in the Labour Market: Nationality, Ethnicity and the Recession.
- The Irish Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in the EU Anti-trafficking Platform (comprising Doras Luimní, Immigrant Council of Ireland and Ruhama) prepared a Submission to the European Commission in response to the Template for National Rapporteurs or Equivalent Mechanisms and in contribution to the upcoming report according Art.20 of Directive 2011/36/EU.
Newsletters
- Crosscare Migrant Project newsletter April 2015.
- Doras Luimní newsletter March/April 2015
- Ruhama newsletter Spring 2015 edition.
- Nasc newsletter April 2015.
- Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) newsletter March 2015.
Events
- 18 May 2015: Migration Integration Policy Index Launch 2015 (Ireland). The Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Migration Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) will launch their findings on Ireland at a conference in EU House, Molesworth St, Dublin 2. Registration at [email protected]
- 25 May 2015: Africa Day Celebration, Farmleigh Estate, Phoenix Park, Dublin. For more information please visit africaday.ie.
- 15-19 June 2015: Annual International Criminal Court Summer School organised by The Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway.
Event proceedings
- 21 January 2015: Presentations from Cross Border Conference on Forced Labour
- 22 April 2015: Campaign videos of launch of all-island “Rearch” campaign We Dont Buy It.
- 30 April 2015: Amarach Researach presented Attitudes to integration in Ireland 2008 – 2015 at the National Integration Conference & Debate in St Patrick’s College.
18 February 2015
Developments at national level
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