120,000 refugees to be relocated despite opposition from several states

EU leaders will meet in Brussels today to work on a solution for the refugee crisis.

The EU Interior and Justice Ministers have pushed ahead with a plan to relocate 120,000 people, despite opposition from several states.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will join his counterparts for the meeting, which will also look at long term strategies to deal with refugees.

Meanwhile, the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee will hear from the UN Refugee agency on the issue this morning.

Agency Spokesman Jody Clarke has said it is important to remember the scale of the problem that Europe is being asked to tackle.

“A bit of perspective though, the vast majority of Syrian refugees for example are in host countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey,” said Mr Clarke.

“Less than 10% have actually made their way to Europe that means that the current situation is manageable and as long as we get the required, let’s say, requisite political will then we should be able to manage the situation.”