IT IS DIFFICULT to imagine the pain of parents and children who are separated, often for long periods of time, due to conflict and persecution.

This is the reality for many people who have been granted International Protection and received refugee status. Due to hugely challenging circumstances, where often their life is at risk, they make the heartbreaking decision to leave their children, planning to reunite again once they reach safety.

Leaving is the lesser of two evils. Stay and risk their safety – often their life – or go and try to build a secure future for them and their children.

We at the Irish Red Cross frequently hear direct testimony from people we support about the positive impact of family reunification.

“I am so grateful… I am with my loved ones again…” so said Follyvi from Togo after being reunited with his wife and three children aged between seven and 13 years old in 2024.

A successful business owner in Togo, Follyvi fled political persecution. Having been recognised for his volunteer work in Ireland, he previously worked as a crane driver in Dublin Port and is now studying to be a Health Care Assistant.

Being reunited with his family “reduced stress, trauma, depression and a feeling of isolation.”

His children are now thriving in school, and his wife is studying English.

Helping families to reunite

Since 1870, under the Geneva Conventions, reuniting families separated by conflict, natural disasters and persecution has been a core service of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It is in our DNA.

“When I got Benyamin I felt like I was alive and I could build my life again. I was counting the days to hug my son after a long time, and finally my dream became true – now we are together”.

These are the joyful words of Latifa Javadi after she was reunited with her six-year-old son in Ireland in 2023. A barrister, Latifa fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in 2021.

Namatullah, originally from Afghanistan, works for a cleaning company in the southeast of the country. He and his wife were forced to flee the Taliban in 2021. As their toddler twins didn’t have passports, they were left in the care of their uncle and aunt.

Namatullah and his wife were subsequently reunited with their children in 2024, which he says makes him “feel alive” and “understand the true meaning of life”.

We have witnessed how family reunification supports integration and social cohesion. We have seen firsthand how it gives families from Gaza, Afghanistan and Syria, among others, a vital opportunity to reconnect, often after a traumatic and life-changing experience such as conflict. Together, they can begin again.

In the current context where legislation that provides for refugee family reunification is being repealed, we hope that the humanitarian impact is to the fore. Under current legislation, refugees can apply within 12 months of receiving their status to be reunited with a limited category of qualifying immediate family members. This provision is widely cited as best practise.

Under the proposed legislative changes, this measure would be removed, with the introduction of a two-year waiting period before one is eligible for family reunification, with an added requirement to demonstrate self-sufficiency. Such measures would create a significant barrier for many refugees who have already faced unimaginable trauma from not being able to benefit from the right to family unity, which is enshrined in International Humanitarian Law, prolonging the separation of parents and children.

Just over 1% of all migrants arriving in Ireland come here through family reunification.  In 2025, this figure was 669 people. Department of Justice figures show that 74% of all those who came to Ireland through the mechanism of Family Reunification in 2025 were children.

The number of people who would be affected by legislative changes is small, but the impact on parents and children would be significant. A child being separated from a parent for a minimum of two years is life-changing. 

Let us be fair and do the right thing. I am proud of Ireland’s positive reputation as a State that stands up for and protects family unity.

I hope Ireland will continue to nurture integration and support people like Follyvi, Latifa and Namatullah to contribute positively to their communities. Our society will be all the richer for it.

Niall O’Keeffe is Head of International & Migration at the Irish Red Cross.

© TheJournal