Minister seeks approval for plan to accept up to 2,600 refugees over four years

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman is due to bring a memo to Cabinet on this issue this week. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

The State is set to accept up to 2,600 refugees from Jordan and Lebanon over the next four years as part of a resettlement programme.

The Government is also seeking to establish permanent integration teams across every local authority to co-ordinate supports and services for refugees arriving here.

Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman is due to bring a memo to Cabinet, as early as Tuesday, to seek approval for the 2024-2027 phase of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, with an expected 650 people due to arrive in Ireland this year under the scheme.

The programme, established in 2015, will see mainly Syrian refugees from both Jordan and Lebanon arrive throughout 2024 and 2025.

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The memo states that there are “particular challenges” in meeting the housing needs of refugees, citing that the landscape has changed since the previous phase of the scheme — between 2020 and 2023.

The effect of Mr O’Gorman’s proposal will require local authorities to provide a total of between 100 and 120 houses each year.

There are plans for all resettled refugees to be distributed in an “equitable manner” across the country, with this due to take place on a scheduled basis to better manage accommodation provision.

While there will still be a need to deliver housing, there are also plans to expand the Community Sponsorship Programme to 25 families a year. 

This programme is where an individual family will be supported by a voluntary group for up to two years, including through providing accommodation and other support.

It is understood that Mr O’Gorman will seek to establish new permanent local authority integration teams across the country, to provide “integration supports, information, advice, and guidance” to all refugees arriving in Ireland.

This includes ensuring their basic needs are met as well as facilitating independent living, if possible.

Alongside these proposals, Mr O’Gorman is due to order his department to begin a focused review of the overall resettlement scheme, which is set to be completed by the end of 2025.

Mr O’Gorman’s long-awaited revised White Paper, which will outline how the State will accommodate asylum seekers in the future, could also be brought to Cabinet tomorrow.

The Irish Examiner reported earlier this month that the plan will involve the State buying or leasing empty buildings and increasing the use of both prefabs and marquee-style units on publicly owned land.

It is understood the Government may also hire an agency to identify properties, negotiate contracts, and refit empty buildings — including office spaces.

The White Paper has been delayed for a number of weeks after Coalition leaders sought more concrete measures from Mr O’Gorman.