Minister denies `crass' stance by O'Donoghue on refugees

Kildare barracks and Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, are the locations for the next group of Kosovan refugees due in the State tomorrow, according to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell.

Answering questions on the number of refugees the State would accept, she rejected the comments of Labour's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, that the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, had been "crass" in his remarks about Ireland's quota of refugees.

Mr De Rossa said "the idea that Ireland is not in a position to take more than 1,000 refugees is an unhelpful and ungenerous approach to the problem. Albania, a country that is on its knees, is having to cope with up to 60,000 refugees."

Ms O'Donnell told the Dublin North West TD that Mr O'Donoghue did not "in a declaratory sense" put a limit on the number of refugees. "All our efforts at present are going into providing appropriate reception facilities for the 1,000 refugees who will be flown here in the next couple of weeks. We cannot put a limit or a ceiling on the generosity of the Irish people in this regard, particularly when the situation in the camps in Macedonia is deteriorating daily."

The Minister added: "Until a future assessment is made, every effort is being made to prepare accommodation in other centres around the country so that we can take up our quota of 1,000 refugees."

She said there had been some misrepresentation of what the Minister for Justice had said. Inevitably, as the Minister with responsibility for the humanitarian effort, Ms O'Donnell said, she would have a different emphasis.

"The Minister for Justice has his own preoccupations and his own views on the matter. I do not accept, however, that he was ruling out the acceptance of further refugees by the Government. I am sure there is no resistance and that there is full public support for a generous response to further requests from the UNHCR."

She said locations were picked on "availability, vacant possession, suitability for family groups of not less than 50 or 60 and compliance with fire safety regulations".

"The properties in Millstreet and Killarney were the first suitable ones ready according to the criteria we outlined."

She told Ms Frances Fitzgerald, Fine Gael's foreign affairs spokeswoman, that not every type of accommodation was suitable. "We may have to use mobile homes because they represent the fastest way of accommodating large numbers of people."

Ms O'Donnell told the Dail that Official Development Assistance (ODA) for 1999 from the State would reach £171 million, the highest in the 25 years of the existence of an Irish aid programme. This amounted to 0.33 per cent of GNP, up from 0.31 per cent in 1998. It was estimated to reach £186 million in 2000, and at least £213 million in 2001. Seven years ago, ODA was just £40 million.