Reports, Evaluations, and other Documents Published by SPIRASI

Reports

• The SPIRASI Strategic Plan, 2007-2009 (published in 2007) outlines the priorities of SPIRASI for the coming years.
• The 2005 Annual Report was completed in late 2006 but was published in 2007 to coincide with the launch of the SPIRASI Strategic Plan, 2007-2009.
• An Evaluation Report (PDF 600k) of the Centre for Care of Survivors of Torture was carried out in 2003.
• An Evaluation Report (PDF 465k) of the Health Information Programme was carried out in 2003.

Newsletters

SPIRASI first started publishing a quarterly newsletter at the start of the summer of 2007. Each issue is available in the Portable Document Format (PDF) which has been optimised for small file size for a short download time.

• Issue One (Summer 2007) (388 kB)
• Issue Two (Autumn 2007) (672 kB)

Resources

Cultural Profiles Project

In the Spring of 2006, the SPIRASI Cultural Profiles project was completed. This resource was designed to be a basic, and easy to use reference for those working in the health services to look up a country of origin or cultural background and quickly find out relevant information that will assist their interaction with members of minority ethnic communities. It also covers specific issues and areas of interest to health practitioners such as interpreting, death, circumcision, gender, etc. (Note: This information was compiled and checked in 2006 but SPIRASI can't guarantee that the information and external links provided are still valid).

Refworld Ireland Directory

Begley, M., Baxter, R., (eds), "REFWORLD Ireland Directory 2002." Dublin, SPIRASI, 2002

The Refworld directory contains a list of organisations that are working or dealing with immigrants and / or asylum seekers. It will enable you to find other people and groups working in the same sector, tell you what they are doing and how they can be contacted.

"We trust that it will be of use in helping the networking of these various agencies, to allow each to know who else is working in the same sector, what they are doing and how they can be contacted. We trust that it will also be of use to many potential volunteers who need to know which of the many agencies in the field can best use their idealism, creativity and energy."

From the preface by Patrick Roe, (Chair) Board of Spirasi.

Refworld is currently out of print and is in the process of being updated. If you would like a copy, it is available for download as a PDF (408 kb).

Partnership Publications

Good Practice in the Reception and Integration of Refugees

Commissioned by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), and with the Refugee Education and Training Advisory Service (RETAS) of World University Service, Asylkoordination Osterreich and Caritas Cologne Refugee Counselling Association as lead agencies, SPIRASI contributed as a partner organisation in the development of two of the three Good Practice Guides developed by ECRE in the field of reception and integration of refugees. After two years work and with funding from the European Refugee Fund, Quest for Quality: Educational Guidance for Refugees (PDF) and Child Refugees in Europe: Guidelines on the Psychosocial Context, Assessment of and Interventions for Traumatised Children and Adolescents (PDF) were published in December 2002.

"Refugee Contribution to Europe: A Feasibility Study on the Establishment of a Fund for Refugee Employment and Education (FREE)- Ireland."

O'Flannagan, J. Belgium, OCIV (Overlegcentrum voor Integratie van Vluchtelingen), 2002.

Commissioned by the European Union and funded by the European Refugee Fund, the FREE project aims to tackle the under-utilisation of refugees' skills by creating a European Fund for Refugee Employment and Education. The initial phase of the project investigated the feasibility of the proposed fund in 14 EU member states. Managed by a Steering Group of three organisations, Refugee Education and Training Advisory Service (RETAS) in the UK, University Assistance Fund (UAF) in the Netherlands and Overlegcentrum voor Integratie van Vluchtelingen (OCIV) in Belgium, SPIRASI participated as the Irish partner and published the Feasability Report for Ireland in November 2002.

"Asylum in Ireland: A Public Health Perspective."

Begley, M.G., Garavan, C., Condon, M., Kelly, I., Holland, K., & Staines, A.
Department of Public Health Medicine and Epidemiology, University College Dublin, 1999.

This publication is the result of a combined qualitative and quantitative survey of the needs of asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland. This was published, with Michael Begley's own survey in the report Asylum in Ireland: A Public Health Perspective (PDF 1.3mb).

"The Stranger in Our Midst. Refugees in Ireland : Causes, Experiences & Responses."

Thomas R. Whelan (ed).
Dublin: KMI Institute of Theology and Cultures, 2001. (For copies, contact Secretary at 01-406-4375)

• Al-Sader, M. "Torture",
• Begley, M.G. "Overview: Asylum In Ireland",
• Blake, T. "The Law and Refugee Protection in Ireland."
• O'Dempsey, T. "Training Institutions in Human Resource Capacity Building."
• Roe, P. "Refugees and the Challenge of Horizons. A Theological Interpretation."

RESOURCE Country Report: Ireland

Natacha O'Brien, January 2004

The Resource Ireland report (PDF 540k) looks at the positive contribution that refugees can make to current and projected labour market needs. Most refugees come from urban settings and have a good level of education. Many hold academic or professional qualifications and have considerable work experience. This report is the Irish section of the European wide Resource Project.

Adobe PDF Reader is available as a free download from the Adobe web-site.