A number of leading charity organisations have said the Irish Government should increase its intake of refugees to 22,000 under the EU’s relocation and resettlement scheme.
The latest call comes after the Government announced that they would welcome 4,000 people through their new Refugee Protection Programme, with the first group consisting of 30 people arriving before Christmas, however it has since been revealed that the group will not arrive until early next year.
That news has prompted a number of charitable organisations such as Oxfam and Trócaire Ireland to openly criticise Ireland’s handling of migration and integration, saying the Government should increase the number of refugees it takes in under resettlement and relocation schemes to at 22,000 people.
That sentiment was echoed by Edel McGinley, the director of the Migrant Rights Centre, who said that it was “highly disappointing and disheartening to see the Irish Government fall short of its commitment to welcome 4,000 people who are desperately fleeing war and poverty” Ms McGinley added: “We have resettled just 100 people so far this year, and plan to resettle only 20 or 30 more, is completely unacceptable.”