Ireland has a responsibility to help people who are in “absolute peril” and must play a role in overcoming what has become “one of the most challenging issues for humankind”, Mr Howlin told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme.
“I think there is a requirement for Ireland to step up to the plate,” he said. “It’s not simply a European issue, it’s a world issue. Some of the difficulties in dislodging people from their homelands in Syria and Iraq are not caused by Europeans and we need to have a world response with a real sense of solidarity and humanity and Ireland will certainly measure up to whatever is asked of us.”
Under the EU relocation plan for refugees, Ireland has agreed to take 600 asylum seekers, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, over the next two years, in addition to plans for the resettlement of 520 Syrians by the end of next year.
Mr Howlin said he was sure the State would accept more refugees and migrants than originally planned but that numbers needed to be determined proportionately on a European level.
Asked whether he would support the introduction of European-wide quotas for accepting refugees and migrants, Mr Howlin said people should be allocated across the EU to help deal with what he described as not simply a European issue but a world issue.
“Simply taking a quota of the numbers that are currently moving is not enough. There needs to be a much broader, much deeper, much longer term solution put in train.
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