€8 million of EU funds for migrants and refugees not spent

While the migrant population has been growing in Ireland over the last few years, and more refugees are coming as the Syrian conflict continues, almost 8 million € which could be used to help these people have been drawn down, as announced today by a spokesperson from the Department of Justice.

It was explained that in the period from 2007 to 2012, almost 50% of the of the 15 million € allocated under the ERF and EIF schemes, intended for NGOs and initiatives which seek to help migrants and refugees in fields such as integration, health or educaton, were not spent.

While the applications for these funds might be long and difficult, migrant and refugee organisations criticise the apparent lack of help and information from government agencies.