Paul from the Irish Red Cross came in on Monday to collect our donations for their shop in Naas.
His van was full to the top with bags of clothes and stuffed toys. He was very grateful and wanted us
to pass on the IRC’s thanks to all at CETNS.
Below is some information on the work they have been doing in response to the migrant crisis.
The Irish government established the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) in September 2015 as a direct response to the EU migration crisis. Under this programme, Ireland has agreed to accept 4,000 persons in total under resettlement and relocation programmes within a two-year period. The Irish Red Cross was appointed to the IRPP Taskforce which focusses on issues related to the implementation of the Programme. The Taskforce is comprised of a number of governmental as well as UNHCR.
To date, a family of 10 has been relocated from Greece. The Irish Red Cross has worked to provide assistance under the IRPP. We understand that another group of 31 Syrians are soon due to arrive, and a further 40 people are provisionally scheduled to arrive next month and each 2 months thereafter. In relation to resettlement, 110 programme refugees have been admitted to Ireland thus far this year from Lebanon.
The Irish Red Cross has received overall around 900 pledges of accommodation and services from the Irish Public via our online ‘register of pledges’, which was launched in September 2015. The majority of these offers relate to voluntary accommodation (just over 66%), and 33% of these are offers of skills/services, both professional and other.