Refugees may not arrive in Ireland until early 2016

Speaking during a meeting of EU Justice Ministers in Brussels yesterday Minister Frances Fitzgerald described the process as “very challenging”.

The Justice Minister said 30 refugees that were due to be relocated to Ireland from Greece or Italy before Christmas won't arrive until 2016.

Ireland has agreed to accept 600 asylum seekers under an EU relocation scheme and a further 2-thousand more under a second, larger scheme.

However, there are reports that problems on the ground where large numbers of refugees are arriving are affecting the relocation process.