Seanad Commencement Debate
1 October 2019
I asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to provide information concerning persons in respect of whom he has given permission to come to Ireland from Syria as part of the Irish refugee protection programme humanitarian admission programme, IHAP, but whose access to travel documents has been impeded by the conflict and the relevant authorities, and to make information available regarding a procedure for assisting persons to travel here urgently, as their lives are in many cases in serious danger in Syria.
The specific issue I am raising relates to persons who have received permission for vulnerable family members still in Syria. I have been in communication for a number of months with the Department of Justice and Equality's Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, and travel document section relating to a family in an urgent situation. Family members are in Idlib, which is under siege. They cannot get out of Idlib. They have been given permission by the State to come to Ireland where they have close family members, including siblings. They are in a terrible situation. Their lives are at risk daily.
