THE UN refugee agency has noted with concern that refugees’ applications for family reunification in Ireland can take up to two years to process.
In a report on refugee integration published yesterday, the UNHCR also said it was unclear how the State was communicating its expectations on how immigrants could further their own incorporation into society.
While broadly praising recent progress in Government policy in the area – including changes to the process for granting citizenship to refugees – the report noted that “the main concern in relation to family reunification and integration is the processing time which can take up to 18 or 24 months.” The findings of a survey which accompanied the report showed that, when a group of refugees were asked what might make them feel more at home, 12 per cent mentioned having their family with them.
The agency noted recent policy developments on integration, and acknowledged that the Immigration Residence and Protection Bill, currently making its way through the Oireachtas, highlighted expectations on new communities to integrate. These included expectations such as language competence and respect for the basic values of the State.
“However, it is not clear how these expectations are communicated and whether there will be targeted support to meet the expectations,” it added.
In its survey of refugees, based on 66 questionnaires, the UNHCR found that a large majority felt they should be given more information about Irish society after they are granted their status.
Some 91 per cent felt more information should be provided on topics such as education, housing, employment and Irish culture. Half of those surveyed said they had not received any such information. However, some 82 per cent said they felt they had responsibility for their own integration, and the majority felt like they were at home in Ireland. A majority (62 per cent) had not chosen Ireland as a destination. Most said they had no choice and that they did not know Ireland, but had asked someone to take them to a European country or had thought that they were going somewhere else.
“In relation to integration, this indicates that few arrive in Ireland with knowledge about the country, its history, culture, values, religion and political structure,” the report noted.
On employment, 98 per cent of respondents felt that having a job was an important element of successful integration. The most common reasons given for the difficulties in finding a job were discrimination, a lack of relevant experience, recognition or qualifications and a lack of language schools.
Participation in the democratic process, virtually all respondents agreed, was important to the integration process. But although a majority (70 per cent) were aware of their right to vote, very few people (26 per cent) had exercised that right.
The UNHCR representative in Ireland, Manuel Jordao, said the report showed the progress Ireland had made on refugee integration. He also stressed that across the developing world it was essential to keep the “humanitarian spirit” alive in these straitened times.
The director general of the Office of Integration, Diarmuid Cole, said he was encouraged by the findings that a majority of refugees surveyed by the UN agency felt like they were at home in Ireland, and that nearly all respondents would like Irish citizenship.
He said many refugees may need more support.
“We are perhaps not engaging with them enough . . . That is obviously something we are going to have to look at,” he said.