Dear Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald,

In 2015, the Irish Government announced plans to ‘take 4,000 refugees in new programme’. The number was way behind figures pledged by other European countries at the same time, but it definitely felt like we were making some progress.

At the time, the Government said that a 'priority would be given to unaccompanied minors’. As the Minister for Justice you said ‘refugees would start arriving in groups of 50 or 100 within weeks, with more coming before the end of the year’.

Almost one year on, Ireland has taken in 311 refugees.

There are still hundreds of parent-less children languishing in the Calais refugee camp in northern France. If it wasn’t for the tireless work of volunteers in the camp, these vulnerable children would be in even more dangerous situations. They are traumatised, malnourished and scared.

Can you please let me know when and how the figure of 4,000 will be fulfilled, and provide an update as to what you are doing about the current situation in Calais, where hundreds of undocumented children have gone missing just an hours flight away from Dublin?

As Minister of Justice and Equality, you have a duty to help these children, as you promised to do.

Yours sincerely,