The arrival in Ireland of four unaccompanied children from the burnt-out Moria migrant camp in Greece is to be accelerated by Tusla, the child and family agency.
The children are expected to arrive from the island of Lesbos in the coming weeks. They are among 36 children Ireland agreed in 2018 to take from Greek migrant camps as part of an EU-wide commitment. Eight children arrived last June.
Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said Irish people “want to see us playing our part in helping these children, and I acknowledge that Ireland has more to do in this regard”.
“Last week, we witnessed the shocking scene of a fire destroying large sections of the Moria migrant camp in Lesbos,” he said. “The fire compounded the incredibly difficult circumstances in which so many people are living.”
He had been “actively engaging with Tusla, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Foreign Affairs with a view to expediting the transfer of unaccompanied children from Greek camps” and had “asked that arrangements be made with Tusla to accelerate the arrival of four more unaccompanied children in the coming weeks”.
Mr O’Gorman said he was working with Tusla “to meet our commitments to the transfer of unaccompanied children in Greece to Ireland as quickly as possible”.
