Sir, - I have been asked by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, John O'Donoghue, TD, to refer to your editorial of May 14th.
Mr O'Donoghue at no stage stated that Ireland is limited to taking 1,000 Kosovar refugees, or that the Government had decided to cap the numbers of refugees that could come here at a figure of 1,000. What Mr O'Donoghue has in fact said is that in the light of the available accommodation and necessary services such as counselling and other back-up facilities, the Government has decided to take in 1,000 refugees at this stage. Contrary to the impression created in some media reports and elsewhere, the Minister has made it abundantly clear that Ireland is willing to consider taking in further refugees should this be requested by UNHCR and when appropriate facilities are identified within the State to accommodate the additional refugees.
As a matter of record, I should also point out that the Minister was one of the first Government representatives in Europe to formally indicate a willingness to take in refugees arising from this conflict. Your newspaper carried a report of this in your edition of April 5th, and Mr O'Donoghue made this offer two days later on April 7th at a specially convened Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. - Yours, etc., Noel Waters,
Press & Information Officer, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2