Long stays in direct provision centres can hamper the ability of refugees to fully integrate into Irish society.

More than 100 Syrians from the war-torn country have been granted safe haven in Ireland under a humanitarian admission programme.

The Government last night named the new working group charged with reviewing the working of the Direct Provision system for asylum seekers.

It is three years to the day that the war in Syria began. Sophie Magennis argues that Ireland has a role to play in alleviating the growing human cost of the conflict.

Ireland has agreed to accept Syrian family members of refugees already here and to allow them to come and join their loved ones for up to two years.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Office in Ireland has called on the Government to introduce a new single, asylum process like those which operate in other EU member states.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ireland, Sophie Magennis, has said the international community has a huge amount of work to do to protect refugees.