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Ireland's coalition not split over refugee numbers: PM

Xinhua, September 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday there was no split in the coalition government over the number of refugees the country should take in.

State broadcaster RTE quoted Kenny as saying that he was not fixated on the number that should be accepted, despite recent speculation over what the figure should be.

Kenny is leader of Fine Gael (the United Ireland Party), which formed a coalition government with the Labor Party after the 2011 general election.

Kenny was also quoted as saying he did not want to get bogged down in the statistics as the issue was about humanity and was a global problem and challenge, and Ireland would play its part.

RTE said the prime minister would organize a special cabinet meeting later this week to make decisions on the migrant issue.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton, also leader of the Labor Party, said the country could accept, over a period of time, up to 5,000 refugees, adding that there would not be a cut-off at that figure.

However, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, who is from the Fine Gael party, said last week Ireland may admit as many as 1,800 refugees. Ireland has so far agreed to take 600 refugees.

The European Commission is expected to unveil a new proposal this week to relocate an extra 120,000 refugees across the EU. This is in addition to the 32,000 migrants that the EU agreed to accept in June.

So far this year, 366,402 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean, 51 percent of them Syrians, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Endit