SYRIAN refugees could be resettled in Carlow as early as October.
Carlow County Council’s acting chief executive Dan McInerney confirmed to The Nationalist that 80 refugees are set to be resettled in Carlow.
It’s targeted that the Syrians could arrive in the last quarter of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018, but that depends on support services being in place.
Details of the resettlement are scarce and Mr McInerney said the council has yet to get information about the Syrians arriving, although it’s believed the vast majority will consist of families.
An inter-agency working group involving statutory bodies will be set up to prepare supports for the refugees. However, there is no current plan about where the Syrians will be homed.
Eighteen months ago, the government agreed to resettle 4,000 Syrians under the EU relocation programme, but it’s understood the Department of Justice only recently contacted Carlow County Council about resettlement.
The resettlement was discussed at an in-committee (behind closed doors) get-together prior to May’s meeting of Carlow County Council last week.
The Irish Refugee Protection Programme held a presentation but the lack of information about how the refugees will be housed was a cause of contention for some councillors.
“There was nothing about where these houses were coming from and who was going to pay for them,” said Labour councillor William Paton. “Are they going to come from existing housing lists or were they coming from additional funds to buy more houses?”
Cllr Paton cited the 1,900 people on the council’s housing list and said he would prioritise Carlow people in desperate need of housing over the Syrians.
Specifically, he said that 29 families in Carlow who are currently in involuntary shared housing with family members need to be looked after first.
“You may have a mother and father and two kids in one room in the family home,” said the Tullow councillor. “Certainly, I would prefer to see the 29 families in involuntary sharing looked after and then I would have no difficulty. But I would like to see additional funding being provided rather than existing money.”
One Carlow councillor, who did not wish to be identified, said he had concerns about the vetting of Syrians.
Mr McInerney would not comment on housing provision and highlighted the fact that the state was legally bound to take in 4,000 refugees. Speaking in a personal capacity, Mr McInerney believes it is important to assist the Syrians.
“Given the absolute huge level of trauma and hopelessness that the Syrians have been under, on a personal level, I think that everybody should be trying to do their best for them.”
Mr McInerney believes the successful resettlement of the Rohingya people in Carlow town would be hugely beneficial in welcoming the Syrians.
