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	Ireland set for dramatic rise in refugees after new U-turn</p>
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	Ireland will take in &quot;several thousand&quot; more refugees over the coming years in new re-settlement programmes aimed at dealing with the biggest crisis since World War II.</p>
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	Senior ministers, led by the Taoiseach, confirmed a major U-turn on the Government&#39;s extremely cautious approach up to now as the harrowing images of the body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi on a Turkish beach awakened public opinion across Ireland and the world.</p>
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	After talks in Paris with French President Francois Hollande yesterday, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the tragic image must shock the world into action.</p>
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	&quot;Any parent could see that child in their own arms. Here was the body of a young boy, a life lost and wasted, washed up on a beach,&quot; Mr Kenny said.</p>
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	The Taoiseach said he would be urging Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to be flexible in her EU negotiations.</p>
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	He said it was impossible at this point to cite the number of migrants that Ireland might accept, ahead of EU negotiations.</p>
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	Ms Fitzgerald also last night revealed plans by the Government to send a team of immigration officials to so-called European &quot;hotspots&quot; where the migration crisis is most serious.</p>
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	The officials, some of whom may be civil servants with an expertise in immigration, would help assess the migrants for resettlement in parts of Europe.</p>
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	Share</p>
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	Labour Party ministers Brendan Howlin and Alan Kelly made it clear the Government would take a share of the 100,000 people across the EU requiring re-settlement.</p>
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	In a strident speech last night, Mr Kelly said Ireland must now make plans to take far more migrants.</p>
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	&quot;Ireland should lead the world on this issue,&quot; Mr Kelly told reporters in Dublin.</p>
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	He said one of the reasons he was proud to be Irish was the country&#39;s lack of support for anti-immigrant politics.</p>
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	&quot;It is that lack of anti-immigration sentiment in Ireland that allows us to be one of the leaders in Europe when it comes to facing this challenge.</p>
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	&quot;Anyone whose conscience had yet to acknowledge how grave this crisis is will have come to a realisation overnight with the heart-wrenching image of Aylan Kurdi lifeless on the sands.&quot;</p>
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	Mr Kelly acknowledged that Ireland has big housing and welfare problems. But he said these difficulties paled when compared with the life-and-death situations of thousands of migrants scattered across Europe.</p>
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	He rejected suggestions that this was a &quot;knee-jerk reaction&quot; to the images of Aylan Kurdi and his stricken family.</p>
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	&quot;We discussed this at Cabinet level earlier this week and there was unanimity around the table that we must do more and we will do more. If anything, the harrowing images has only served to reinforce the need,&quot; Mr Kelly said.</p>
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	Officials said the definitive number of refugees taken by Ireland would have be worked out in the coming weeks.</p>
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	Ireland is already committed to take a total of 1,120 over the coming two years, and the increase is expected to be &quot;many multiples of this number - but well short of 10,000&quot;.</p>
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	But the Justice Minister yesterday also emphasised that the number asylum seekers had doubled in Ireland to 2,100 in the space of a year. Some 30,000 people had been given refugee status here over the past 10 years, she added.</p>
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	Ms Fitzgerald admitted that Ireland could do more - but added that foreign aid may have to be re-examined to ensure it gets to those countries which need it most.</p>
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	Traffickers</p>
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	&quot;At one level, no response is good enough when you see an appalling crisis like this unfolding before our eyes. We are all touched and affected by what we have seen,&quot; Ms Fitzgerald told the Irish Independent.</p>
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	Ms Fitzgerald also said a &quot;security force&quot; was required, particularly off the coast of Libya, to tackle the scourge of traffickers. And she said that there should be consideration given towards sending refugees back to their countries of origin if they are deemed to be safe.</p>
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	Earlier, junior minister Aodh&aacute;n &Oacute; R&iacute;ord&aacute;in said Irish people wanted to take in more refugees.</p>
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	&quot;They are ahead of their politicians in this regard. History will record how we all responded to this humanitarian crisis,&quot; he said.</p>
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	EU leaders have struggled for months to frame a new migrant policy approach. German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday again said the burden of taking on hundreds of thousands of refugees could not fall on just a few European countries.</p>
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	A number of Irish charities are working to help refugees both in southern Europe and in Ireland.</p>
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	Several are running special appeals for Syrian refugees.</p>
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	Anyone looking for information or who wishes to help can contact:</p>
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	Irish Refugee Council (01) 7645854</p>
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	Medecins Sans Frontier (01) 6603337</p>
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	Irish Red Cross (01) 6424600</p>
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	Oxfam Ireland (01) 6727662</p>
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	Concern (01) 4177700</p>
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	GOAL (01) 2809779</p>
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	UNICEF Ireland (01) 8783000</p>
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	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-set-for-dramatic-rise-in-refugees-after-new-uturn-31501428.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-set-for-dramatic-rise-in-refugees-after-new-uturn-31501428.html</a></p>
