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Confirmed: Ireland will take in 4,000 refugees

A special cabinet meeting was held this morning to discuss Ireland’s response to the crisis.
Under this Programme, Ireland will offer a welcome safe haven for families and children who have been forced to leave their homes due to war and conflict” – Minister Fitzgerald

IRELAND WILL WELCOME 4,000 refugees as part of the country’s response to the current crisis.

Greece Migrants AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald announced the figure for the initial provision after a special cabinet meeting this morning.

Ministers signed off on the Irish Refugee Protection Programme which will see reception and orientation centres set up around the country. The new scheme will provide a “safe haven” for an extra 2,900 “persons seeking international protection”.

That is on top of the 600 people Ireland already committed to taking in earlier this year under the EU Relocation programme and the 520 refugees currently being resettled.

Even more than 4,000 could eventually be accepted because of further family reunifications.

State property – under the care of the Defence Forces and the OPW – is being audited to check if there are any vacant buildings that could be used to house or welcome refugees coming to Ireland.

Minister Fitzgerald said that a range of offers have also been received from voluntary and religious organisations.

It is understood that some refugees in groups of 50 or 100 will arrive within weeks – particularly those who had been accepted from Lebanon earlier this year.

Others coming under this new plan will come before the end of the year.

National response

An additional budget allocation has been approved to deal with the major increase in asylum and other immigration cases, as well as the backlog of cases in the current system. 

The scheme will cost €12 million per thousand refugees.

“It is only right that we are do all we can as a nation to help,” Fitzgerald said in a statement, welcoming the number of expressions of support from the public which have included pledged accommodation.

I have been clear that we must do all we can to harness the potential of these generous offers.

The Irish Red Cross, Civil Defence and other NGOs have been asked to pursue all of these options to find suitable homes for men, women and children arriving from Syria and elsewhere.

The Red Cross said today it will be collating offers of accommodation from the public and anyone wishing to offer a place in their home to refugees can call  01 6424 600 or email MigrationCrisis@redcross.ie.

It is envisaged that the new Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres will be established to initially accept and process those accepted into the protection programme. A decision on refugee status will then be made in those centres within weeks.

 

Integration

The Department of Justice plans to work with the Education Department, State agencies and charities to ensure integration measures are put in place, including the provision of English language training and communication socialisation programmes.

We will put in place all the necessary supports to ensure that those coming to Ireland can integrate as well as helping them to overcome any trauma they endured on having to flee their home countries,” Fitzgerald said.

Special arrangements will also be put in place to support unaccompanied and vulnerable children.

Ireland’s participation in the EU programmes will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of Justice and Home Affairs next Monday.

Today Minister for Health Leo Varadkar signed regulations to exempt asylum seekers living in direct provision from the prescription charge levied on medical-card holders.

This was based on a recommendation by a working group which highlighted concerns of asylum seekers with chronic health issues who struggle paying the charge from their weekly support of €19.10.

With reporting by Sinéad O’Carroll

Read: It’s still not clear how many refugees Ireland is taking>

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486 Comments
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    Mute Chonky Racoon
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    Apr 1st 2019, 7:48 PM

    Sad! If I was to hazard I guess I’d plastic has a role to play.. Bet if you opened the whale up you’d find a lot of plastic

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    Apr 1st 2019, 7:56 PM

    @Chonky Racoon: that’s what it says in the article!!

    64
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    Mute Chonky Racoon
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:34 PM

    @Colette Kearns: I didn’t read it. Big oppsies by me :)

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    Mute Alan Christopher
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 4:37 PM

    @Chonky Racoon: while it may well have plastic in its stomach (almost definitely does, to be honest), it wouldn’t be as common with sperm whales as they are toothed whales who actually hunt. Large amounts of plastic tend to be ingested by baleen whales who filter feed and don’t actively seek out specific prey.

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    Mute j4VEpUO8
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:11 PM

    Very sad reading!. Magnificent creatures!, yet man is destroying their simple right of life!.

    117
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    Mute missroisin
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    Apr 1st 2019, 7:56 PM

    Maybe one the 100 or so foreign Factory trawlers towing of the west coast of Ireland got it up in there nets and then dumped back the body and then it got washed up. That would be my guess.

    75
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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:21 PM

    @missroisin: You think a trawler accidentally picked up a 40ft whale and then threw it back in? Are you for real?

    170
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    Mute Liam Whelan
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:42 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: have you ever seen a factory ship? They’re absolutely huge, there nets are about a mile or so long and just as tall! It could quite possibly be a cause!

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    Mute Shane Hughes
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:10 PM

    @Liam Whelan: no your right. I went to the shops earlier and when I got home I found an elephant in my pocket. Must have picked it up by mistake.

    69
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    Mute missroisin
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 5:43 AM

    @Tweety McTweeter: google annelies llena and magiris trawler , there is a massive fleet of worlds largest trawlers fishing of Ireland and yes you would fit 10 in there nets . So sort your comments out with facts I never said a trawler, I said a super trawler.

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    Mute dowthebow
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 4:16 PM

    @missroisin: well you didn’t say super you said foreign…

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    Mute Alan Christopher
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 4:40 PM

    @dowthebow: Well she said factory trawlers, which can have nets spanning close to 1km. So the point still stands.

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    Mute Pixie McMullen
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:01 PM

    Don`t rule out Sonar from Submarines from the neighbours, especially in the present climate and friction between countries going on around the world

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    Mute Billy McNamara
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:19 PM

    Could be just old age,and the animal knowing it’s end was near.Sperm Whales feed very deep on squid and unlikely plastic would be the cause in this instance.Many animals do die from old age,even in this polluted age.

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    Mute j4VEpUO8
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    Apr 1st 2019, 8:23 PM

    @Billy McNamara: I agree Billy but unfortunately plastic has been found recently at depths only a sub can dive. Was on BBC over the weekend. Still devastating for the whales.

    50
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    Mute Paraic
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    Apr 1st 2019, 10:16 PM

    A lot of conspiracy theories floating about. Whales aren’t immortal y’know.

    24
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    Mute Alan Christopher
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 4:42 PM

    @Paraic: Conspiracies, or just theories? Absolutely could have just been a old whale though, that is true.

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    Mute Alan Christopher
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 4:43 PM

    @Paraic: Scratch that. I see the conspiracy theories now!

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    Mute Johnny Conway
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:23 PM

    So the royal navy is still patrolling our waters in the west killing Whales with there sonar again

    15
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    Mute The Great Unwashed
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 2:17 PM

    @Johnny Conway:
    Were whales immortal before submarines were invented?

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    Mute Angry_Man41
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:05 PM

    Ya, would b interesting to open this creature up and see how much plastic is in him. Would b shocked if it was very little.
    He may have died of natural causes, but plastic a curse for these creatures

    18
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    Mute j4VEpUO8
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:15 PM

    @Angry_Man41: I very much doubt that an autopsy will be carried out €€€

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    Mute Who cares?
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    Apr 1st 2019, 9:32 PM

    @T Jay O’Mea: I’ll go down and cut him open and have a look if someone pays my diesel!

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    Mute Sean O' Donovan
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    Apr 1st 2019, 10:11 PM

    @Who cares?: Time to set up a Go-Fund me page

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 12:26 AM

    There might be plastic and there might not. Fact is, a very distant mammalian cousin died but it’s a bonanza for those who will and should be free to feed on the carcass. Circle of life and hopefully nothing more. As the title says, nothing sinister, though they can pong for a while. Glorious creature.

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    Mute jamesdecay
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    Apr 1st 2019, 11:11 PM

    A stinking, rotting carcass washed up on the beach is a sad but fitting metaphor for Brexit.

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    Mute OpenLitterMap
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    Apr 1st 2019, 10:18 PM

    If you want to do something about plastic pollution, please share data on litter anywhere @ openlittermap.com – it’s like Pokémon Go for Tidy towns!

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    Mute GᗩᒪᒪEᖇY ᗩᑎᗪ ᗰᑌSEᑌᗰ ᑭᖇO-ᒪIᖴE STᗩᖴᖴ Iᑎ IᖇEᒪᗩᑎᗪ
    Favourite GᗩᒪᒪEᖇY ᗩᑎᗪ ᗰᑌSEᑌᗰ ᑭᖇO-ᒪIᖴE STᗩᖴᖴ Iᑎ IᖇEᒪᗩᑎᗪ
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    Apr 2nd 2019, 11:08 AM

    A pity. Such a majestic animal.
    Ireland has been suffering from a low Sperm Whale count for some time now.

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    Mute this_is_ireland
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    Apr 1st 2019, 11:01 PM

    Premature

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