Community Sponsorship Ireland (CSI) is an alternative resettlement stream to the traditional state-centred model of resettlement.
The CSI model which is being piloted seeks to enable a Community Sponsorship Group (CSG) to come together to support arriving refugees. The local group will provide supports around access to housing and to different state services. Refugees will arrive in Ireland following selection by UNHCR and a vetting process overseen by Irish Refugee Protection Programme.
Community Sponsorship (CS) was first piloted in December 2018 with the arrival of a Syrian family to Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. It is expected that up to 50 refugees will arrive in Ireland during the pilot phase of Community Sponsorship which will last till October 2019.
Community Sponsorship Ireland draws from the Canadian model and has been developed in Ireland in cooperation with Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GSRI), the Irish Red Cross, NASC, Irish Refugee Council and the UNHCR.
Waterford Leader Partnership along with other Development Companies in Cork have been designated and trained as Regional Support Organisations and are there to support the Community Sponsorship Group with practical advice and links to the local community.
The Lismore Welcome Project who formed as a Community Sponsorship Group at the beginning of 2019 welcomed a Syrian family to Lismore in June 2019. They will support the family to become independent over the 2 years of the Sponsorship project.
If you would like to be involved in setting up a Community Sponsorship Group in your area Gillian McCarthy is WLPs’ Community Sponsorship Ireland Regional Support Officer and can be contacted on gillian.mccarthy@wlp.ie +353(87)2311061 or +353(58)58024.
