The first Afghan refugees to be accepted into the State after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan arrived into Dublin on Monday evening, while a team of diplomats supported by the military has deployed to Kabul to help evacuate remaining Irish citizens in the country.
An Emergency Consular Assistance Team (ECAT) travelled to Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday evening.
It aims to assist the remaining Irish citizens who wish to evacuate from Afghanistan.
The department said 10 Irish citizens have already been evacuated with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Just met senior officials & DF. I’ll tonight approve the sending of a small team of diplomats, supported by Army Rangers, to Kabul Airport. They’ll work with our int partners on the ground to assist in evacuation of remaining Irish citizens. @dfa @IRLDeptDefence @defenceforces
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) August 23, 2021
Those seeking evacuation have been described as mainly family groups.
The ECAT will consist of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Defence Forces personnel.
Some 36 Irish citizens and family members remained in the country.
In a statement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: “Good progress has been made to date in evacuating Irish citizens from Afghanistan.
“My view is that further progress requires a short deployment of a consular team to HKIA.
“The security situation for citizens attempting to access the airport remains extremely volatile. Citizens should continue to follow the consular advice given to them directly by our embassy in Abu Dhabi.”
Refugees arrive
Meanwhile, The Irish Times reports that “fewer than 10” Afghan refugees were due to arrive into Dublin Airport on Monday evening on board a commercial flight.
More will arrive in the coming days, a Government spokeswoman said.
It is understood the first groups to arrive will largely be made up of Afghan staff from the European External Action Service – the EU’s diplomatic service – and will include finance workers, logisticians, programme officers, secretaries, guards and cleaners.
A Government source last week indicated that most of the Afghan arrivals would be accommodated in Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROC) in Clonea in Co Waterford, Ballaghaderreen in Co Roscommon and Mosney in Co Meath where there is space available.
