By Sean Ryan - 16 May, 2016
Bishop Brendan Leahy
Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick has warned against any classification system of migrants in the lead up to Limerick’s Syrian refugee resettlement programme.
Fifty refugees who have fled violence in Syria will resettle throughout the city and county at the end of this month, and another 50 Syrians will move into local accommodation in Limerick throughout the year.
As part of a nationwide resettlement programme, Limerick City and County Council has agreed to offer protection to those who have fled their home country.
Laura Ryan, Head of Communications and Marketing for Limerick City and County Council, said the re-settlement programme is designed to offer protection to persons who have fled their country of origin and sought protection in another country.
“The programme is being implemented in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) and Ireland’s commitment to the programme,” she said.
“As part of this commitment, a total of 25 families will be resettled in Limerick in 2016. It is believed that 12 families will be resettled across the city and county within the next two to three weeks.”
Speaking to the Limerick Leader newspaper about the resettlement programme, Bishop Leahy said, “The issue for me is that we will have a variety of migrants coming; we have European migrants, non-European migrants who are coming with a work permit, then we have people who are coming under resettlement programmes, then we have relocation programmes and the asylum-seekers who are already here.”
He added, “I am slightly nervous that we will end up with categories of migrants, and that would be unfortunate because we would end up importing a classification into our migrants.”
Speaking about his concerns Bishop Leahy explained, “It could end up that we have those that are looked after better, those who are looked after less well or those who are told to just get on with it. I think we need to be careful that those who are in the asylum system for 10 years don’t drop down the attention span and are left here waiting for their asylum.”
Bishop Leahy said that the biggest thing the Irish people can offer is a warm welcome, with small gestures making a difference.
He added, “We need to support migrants in whatever way we can and by our solidarity. We need to remember our own history of emigration.”
“It’s not just our grandparents who emigrated, it’s members of our own family. We have to ask ourselves how were there treated when they went there and project that back to ourselves.”
Announcing the resettlement programme last September, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the Government agreed to establish a network of Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres established for the initial acceptance and processing of those in need of international protection who are accepted into Ireland under the EU Programmes.
She added that assessments and decisions on refugee status would be made in be in the Centres, within weeks.
The resettlement programme is being carried out on a national scale with Cork, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Laois, Waterford and Galway already participating in it.
Other organisations involved in the Limerick resettlement programme include the Department of Justice, the Health Service Executive, the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, Tusla, the PAUL Partnership, the Limerick Diocesan office and the Department of Social Welfare.
