Ministers welcome first family to Ireland under Irish Refugee Protection Programme for Afghan nationals

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman TD, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney TD, and the Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, James Browne TD, are pleased to welcome the first family to Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) for Afghan nationals announced last week. The family arrived in Dublin on a flight earlier this evening.

The government had issued more than 200 visas or visa waivers to Afghan nationals over the past week. Priority has been given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women, girls, and minorities as well as those working with NGOs and European and international organisations. Separately, the Department of Justice is also prioritising the processing of family reunification and visa applications for Afghan nationals, which is expected to result in a further approximately 150 people being granted permission to enter Ireland.

For security reasons, information on refugees cannot be publicly released.