Louth County Council is set to spend a total of €184,000 on a support worker and other admin costs to deliver a “Louth Refugee Resettlement Programme” which will assist the local authority in finding houses for refugees, informing them about their rights to things like social welfare, free transport, and education, and tackling racism.
“The families will undertake an initial language and orientation programme when they arrive in Ireland organised by the Department of Justice, before being resettled to County Louth. As Programme Refugees who have been invited to Ireland, the refugees will have the same rights as Irish citizens to education, housing, health, social welfare and employment services,” the tender document states.
The document also details the overall budget available to deliver the programme by the tenderer, which comes in at €189,400 including VAT.
However, the total spent by the Government on the complete approach will reach €281, 320.66, according to the document seen by Gript. This includes thousands of euro on ‘anti-racism training’ and a facilitation effort to involve refugees in youth clubs and after school initiatives.
Broken down, €159,220.66 will be spent on the salary for a resettlement support worker including PRSI for 18 months, while €24,000 is allocated for travel & subsistence for the resettlement support worker to travel to various locations around the county.
The Resettlement worker to be hired by the Council will receive €23,100 for administration which includes project management, financial management and administrative support for the Resettlement worker.
€9,000 is set to be spent facilitating involvement for refugees in youth clubs, while €8000 will be spent on “other health costs” including ophthalmic/hearing / skin related assessments “which are urgent due to delay in treatment while living as a refugee in the country of first asylum”.
€6,000 will be spent on training for volunteers and Programme costs for a series of outings and activities. A further €5000 will be spent on youth programmes for refugee children and teenagers to be run during the summer, easter, and half-term, along with other projects to “facilitate integration in local sporting and recreational activities”.
‘ANTI-RACISM TRAINING’
An additional €4,000 in public money will be spent on “anti-racism training” which is defined as “training for volunteers working with the refugees, setting boundaries, appropriate behaviour etc., background information, and intercultural understanding”.
Provision of Transport services to enable refugees avail of necessary services will cost an additional €15,000 while a further €2,000 will pay for emergency childcare in exceptional circumstances. €2,600 will be spent on creating an after school programme – for pupils to assist with homework and to provide additional ESOL when required.
In total, €281,320.66 will be spent on delivering the programme.
A deadline has been set for 21st April 2023 for suppliers to bid to supply the services included in the scheme.
The Council is currently inviting Tenders from community based organisations for the Programme Implementer to support the delivery of a resettlement programme for programme refugees in County Louth.
According to the Government tender document, the Services comprise a programme implementer to “provide resettlement support services” for the project, which has been named the “Louth Refugee Resettlement Programme,” with an 18-month contract to be issued to the chosen supplier.
The Council details how applicant organisations must have experience working in partnership with local service providers in the “provision of services to vulnerable communities” and states that the successful contractor will be appointed to the role for the Louth Refugee Resettlement Project.
Louth County Council says that “the main objective of the initiative is to support recently arrived refugees who will be resettled in County Louth”. It details how the group will comprise “approximately 100 individuals in a mixture of family sizes and a number of single people arriving in phases over the period between May 2023 and June 2023.”. It specifies that all refugees are coming from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The programme seeks to “facilitate the integration and resettlement of refugees” according to the document seen by Gript. Louth County Council, in its request for tender to fulfil the role, says it has been requested by the Department of Justice and Equality to act as the lead agency supporting the resettlement of UNHCR Programme Refugees in Louth.
It also says that the Department’s Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI) is working through Local Authorities and local agencies in a number of counties to facilitate the integration and resettlement of refugees through this programme.
It states: “The resettlement will be steered and monitored by the Louth Interagency Resettlement Working Group, (to be formed) that will include representatives from statutory and community and voluntary agencies.
“Organisations invited to attend will include Louth County Council (Housing and Community), HSE, LMETB, An Garda Síochána, Department of Social Protection, Túsla, Department of Justice & Equality, Louth Development Company, CYPSC, IRPP and Louth County Childcare Committee.”
The process will be facilitated by the Department of Justice following “a selection and screening process” in UNHCR camps. This screening will include health and education needs assessment, with background security checks, according to the document.
The investment in the programme is set to assist the Council in finding houses for refugees, and informing them about their rights to things like social welfare, free transport, and education.
“The families will undertake an initial language and orientation programme when they arrive in Ireland organised by the Department of Justice, before being resettled to County Louth. As Programme Refugees who have been invited to Ireland, the refugees will have the same rights as Irish citizens to education, housing, health, social welfare and employment services,” it states.
The document details how an Intercultural worker will be employed to implement the local Resettlement Programme, as well as a Resettlement Support Worker in the community.
The project, which “may be extended subject to the availability of further funding” will commence this April, and will run for approximately 18 months.
“The overall objective of the programme is to ensure that refugees can settle into the community, can access services appropriately and build lasting relationships with the local community,” Louth County Council states.
Those who end up facilitating the programme will be responsible for a range of tasks, including the monitoring and recording of “issues arising, responses and challenges” for both service providers and refugees; ensuring refugee children can participate in local sporting activities with local children; arranging for interpretation services; arranging for children to facilitate parents participation in English language and orientation training; linking refugees into local programmes, activities and community organisations including football clubs and youth clubs; mentoring refugees so they can “manage their own lives by the end of the project”; and providing support for the refugees to adjust to a new community and culture.
Other specified tasks include establishing community based support networks in areas where refugees are to be located, and the recruitment and training of a group of local volunteers who will support and befriend refugees in the long-term. After-school clubs for teenagers and older primary school children, and the setting up of targeted initiatives to assist refugee adults and children to adapt to living in Louth are also set out in the plan.
Resources will also be provided under the programme for “exceptional emergency medical or dental treatment not readily available from mainstream providers” which “improves the quality of life of the refugees” and transport needs will be provided, so that refugees can access all services and familiarise themselves with their new surroundings. The list, according to the council, is not extensive, and the total funding for such projects is set to come in at €75,000.
LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL: ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ TO ‘MISINFORMATION’
In January, Louth County Council agreed unanimously to support an emergency motion to support the welcoming of refugees and asylum seekers. Councillors backed the motion by Labour County Cllr Michelle Hall, which demanded a “zero tolerance approach to misinformation and intimidation” as Ireland continues to struggle with a shortage of accommodation.
The motion called for the government to implement Irish Refugee Council’s recommendations for safer and suitable accommodation, an inspector for emergency and transit accommodation and a refugee response director to liaise between government departments, as reported by The Dundalk Democrat.
Speaking at the time, Cllr Hall, who is Mayor of Drogheda, said that the people of Louth needed to “collectively unite and condemn misinformation or intimidatory tactics which try to divide communities” following protests across Ireland at the Government’s handling of the ongoing refugee crisis.
Carlingford is one area which has seen anti-asylum centre protests erupt in recent months. in November, some residents of the Louth village aired their views about the situation on social media, expressing concerns that the safety of women and children could be compromised, while also blasting the lack of communication on the intake of refugees in the small village.