Ireland's White Paper to End Direct Provision (2021): Migrant Accommodation and Control

This IMR Dispatch engages with Ireland's White Paper to End Direct Provision (2021) - the Government of Ireland's most recent policy statement on the provision of settlement services for migrants seeking asylum in Ireland. The actions outlined in the White Paper promise to reorder the provision of accommodation and support for such migrants. A range of positive inputs are included, the most significant of which is the proposed discontinuation of Ireland's current system of dispersed ‘camp-like’ communal accommodations for International Protection applicants and its replacement with a new person-centered system of ‘own room’ and ‘own door’ accommodations in the community. A wide range of personal supports are envisaged as well. At first glance, this White Paper shows that the Government of Ireland has engaged with the concerns of organizations active in Ireland's social protection sector in general, and with the needs of applicants for international protection in particular, to provide a more humane system of International Protection. However, tensions are discernible, and we contend that there is ample evidence of the Government of Ireland's impulse to retain command and control of its migration management processes in the White Paper, even against the background of its new, more human-rights-based approach. We suggest that the spatialities inherent in the proposal point to a potential rearticulation of state control rather than to any diminution of same.

A Journey Towards Integration: An Analysis of the Roles and Responsibilities of Local and Central Governments in New Zealand to Migrants and Refugees Through Public Policy 2000-2016

<p>In the last seventeen years, migrant settlement and integration policy has grown and expanded in New Zealand. While not necessarily a new concept in public policy, settlement and integration of migrants and refugees has dominated the discourse of Immigration policy in New Zealand for much of the 21st century. The topic of Immigration has become more complex and politically challenging as the world has become more interconnected and globalised. Consequently, as the public sector learned more about what settlement means in the context of migration and what programmes and services Government should deliver to newcomers and refugees, discussions have taken place to codify what responsibilities both central and local government in New Zealand have to newcomers. The central research question of this thesis has been how and why has local government’s role in delivering migrant services changed vis-à-vis the role of central government in New Zealand since 2000? By extension, how effective do community stakeholders and local authority staff perceive the current set of arrangements for delivering migrant integration and settlement services? To answer this question, the thesis analyses the early national immigrant settlement framework and then early regional government settlement framework through its two case studies, in Auckland and Wellington. This thesis draws from a vast well of Government reports, reviews and policy recommendations, scholarly articles and academic opinions as well as interviews of current stakeholders. It charts the changing priorities of central government post-­‐‑2008, stakeholder perceptions of those arrangements and, in the context of local and central government service delivery, argues that while the first national and regional framework were focused on the social aspects of settlement, the latest frameworks have prioritised the economic aspects, as central government has learned from the results of the first framework and formulated its position on settlement services as one of leadership. This is in contrast to local government which has not yet successfully reached a consensus position. What this thesis concludes is that while the new set of arrangements has been met with mixed reception, and central government is still working on improving them, local governments in New Zealand are behind in formulating policy but based upon the findings in this thesis, have a responsibility to migrants and refugees when settling them into communities.</p>

A Journey Towards Integration: An Analysis of the Roles and Responsibilities of Local and Central Governments in New Zealand to Migrants and Refugees Through Public Policy 2000-2016

<p>In the last seventeen years, migrant settlement and integration policy has grown and expanded in New Zealand. While not necessarily a new concept in public policy, settlement and integration of migrants and refugees has dominated the discourse of Immigration policy in New Zealand for much of the 21st century. The topic of Immigration has become more complex and politically challenging as the world has become more interconnected and globalised. Consequently, as the public sector learned more about what settlement means in the context of migration and what programmes and services Government should deliver to newcomers and refugees, discussions have taken place to codify what responsibilities both central and local government in New Zealand have to newcomers. The central research question of this thesis has been how and why has local government’s role in delivering migrant services changed vis-à-vis the role of central government in New Zealand since 2000? By extension, how effective do community stakeholders and local authority staff perceive the current set of arrangements for delivering migrant integration and settlement services? To answer this question, the thesis analyses the early national immigrant settlement framework and then early regional government settlement framework through its two case studies, in Auckland and Wellington. This thesis draws from a vast well of Government reports, reviews and policy recommendations, scholarly articles and academic opinions as well as interviews of current stakeholders. It charts the changing priorities of central government post-­‐‑2008, stakeholder perceptions of those arrangements and, in the context of local and central government service delivery, argues that while the first national and regional framework were focused on the social aspects of settlement, the latest frameworks have prioritised the economic aspects, as central government has learned from the results of the first framework and formulated its position on settlement services as one of leadership. This is in contrast to local government which has not yet successfully reached a consensus position. What this thesis concludes is that while the new set of arrangements has been met with mixed reception, and central government is still working on improving them, local governments in New Zealand are behind in formulating policy but based upon the findings in this thesis, have a responsibility to migrants and refugees when settling them into communities.</p>

Eye-care utilization among a Canadian diabetic refugee population: retrospective cohort study of an interdisciplinary care model

Introduction Vision health is an important and underutilized health service among newly arrived refugees in Canada, yet the body of literature on eye-care delivery in this population is limited. The study objective was to identify patterns of eye-care utilization among refugee patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) under an interdisciplinary clinic model comprised of family physicians, eye-care providers, and settlement services. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study at the Memorial University Family Medicine clinic. All patients with a new T2DM diagnosis between 2015–2020 were included. Data were described using basic statistics and unpaired t-tests. This study received full ethics approval. Results Seventy-three (18 refugee, 55 non-refugee) patients were included. Refugees had a higher rate of referral to an eye-care provider ( p = 0.0475) and were more likely to attend their eye-care provider appointment than non-refugees ( p = 0.016). The time from diagnosis to referral was longer for refugees than non-refugees ( p = 0.0498). A trend towards longer time from referral to appointment attendance for refugees than non-refugees was noted ( p = 0.9069). Discussion Refugee patients had higher rates of referral to eye-care providers and utilization of eye-care services. However, refugees also experienced a longer time to access vision screening services suggesting possible gaps in accessible care delivery. This suggests that the interdisciplinary model of care may be effective in referring refugee patients for vision screening and there may be a role for increased collaboration across family physicians, eye-care providers, and settlement services to improve accessibility of vision screening services.

THE EXPERIENCE OF THE WORLDS LEADING COUNTRIES IN IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF COMMERCIAL BANKS AT THE PRESENT STAGE, CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS EXPERIENCE TO THE BANKING SYSTEM OF AZERBAIJAN

Banks are one of the indispensable elements of the financial system. Banks are enterprises that collect free funds from large economic units and use them in economic units that need money. Although this structure initially means an intermediary service, banks focus on both the role of attracting and offering funds beyond the intermediary service. By creating new investment instruments, banks are turning people's banking activities into a more customer-oriented structure by attracting people's interest. Increased connectivity leads banks to create and offer additional services in the field of financial transactions not only locally but also between countries. On the other hand, banks also offer services such as brokerage services, guarantee services, payment and settlement services, and guarantees for foreign trade finance. Today, banks continue to provide a wide range of services under the influence of technology. However, today the wide range of banking operations allows banks to become more profitable in the products they offer.

Financial market infrastructure in Ukraine: consequences of legislative update

The defining principle of the effective functioning of the infrastructure of financial markets is a proper legal basis. It is emphasized that the general principles of infrastructure construction in the context of globalization should provide predictability, clarity and familiarity for international investors. This is most important for immature markets, where legal uncertainty, along with other objective difficulties in the functioning of the infrastructure, hinders the development and attraction of investment. The article notes the slow pace of modernization of the financial market infrastructure in Ukraine and the lack of significant progress in the implementation of international recommendations and proposals of foreign experts. In the course of the study of the updated Ukrainian legislation in the field of capital markets, its inconsistency with the legislation on payment systems and money transfers, inconsistency of terminology, lack of legal certainty, attribution of most fundamental issues to the regulator's discretion were substantiated. Legislative “innovations” of Law № 738-IX of 19.06.2020 are extremely destructive, and their practical implementation poses a threat to the integrity and operational landscape of the infrastructure of financial markets in Ukraine. It has been found that since the middle of 2021 a rather dubious form of cash settlements has been implemented, which revives the outdated inconvenient payment scheme and until 2023 preserves the monopolistic nature of clearing and settlement services, exposes stock market participants to legal and operational risks. It is stated that the Law does not follow the principles and recommendations developed in detail by international experts. The existence of preconditions in Ukraine for building a modern infrastructure of financial markets is substantiated, which requires a proper legal basis, which should be created taking into account the interests of market participants, active involvement of experts, quality implementation of European legal framework and international practices.

Ezidi Voices: The Communication of COVID-19 Information Amongst a Refugee Community in Rural Australia- a Participatory Study.

Background: There is growing evidence that government health information related to COVID-19 has failed to adequately reach culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations in Australia. People who were refugees are a unique sub-set of the CALD communities and are subject to numerous barriers preventing adequate health care, both pre- and post-migration. The barriers are accentuated during emergencies, such as a pandemic, as a result of an intersection of various social and economic inequalities. The recently resettled Ezidi refugee community in a regional area of Australia is an example of a community sitting at the intersection of various inequities and thus at greater risk from COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of the Ezidi in a regional area with COVID-19 information and how this has been communicated to and shared within this group; what barriers the community may experience in accessing COVID-19 information; and how the government led COVID-19 information communication could be improved.Methods: This qualitative study was designed to explore the perceptions and views of the Ezidi and service providers regarding COVID-19 messaging. Working within a participatory framework the Multicultural and Refugee Health staff facilitated interviews with four local service providers and ten Ezidi community members, including seven influential leaders. Thematic analysis was employed across individual, pair and group data analysis. Similar categories were grouped into themes. Results: The main findings of the study are: the refugee experience influences the communication of COVID-19 messages; Cultural, social and gender norms influence responses to COVID-19; trusted individuals and service providers are key in community’s uptake of COVID-19 messages; currently available governmental COVID-19 information resources and sharing strategies were found unhelpful and inappropriate; COVID-19 communiqués and message delivery for this regional minority refugee community can be improved. Conclusion: The recently resettled Ezidi community, and likely other similar communities, would benefit from tailored engagement by government organisations, as well as settlement services to improve the communication of COVID-19 health information and reduce related inequities.

Balancing unity and diversity in a not-for-profit inter-organizational partnership through lateral accountability mechanisms

PurposeThis paper examines how lateral accountability mechanisms may be used to address the unity–diversity tension in a large not-for-profit (NFP) inter-organizational partnership governed under a lead organization model.Design/methodology/approachA case study was conducted in the New South Wales Settlement Partnership comprising 23 NFP organizations providing settlement services for migrants and humanitarian entrants. Multiple data sources included semi-structured interviews, proprietary and publicly available documents and observation.FindingsThe paper demonstrates (1) the usefulness of a strength-based approach that the lead organization adopts in enacting lateral accountability mechanisms, which enables a balance between unity and diversity in the partnership; and (2) the capability of the lead organization governance model to address the unity–diversity tension.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper (1) identifies the importance of a strength-based approach in implementing lateral accountability mechanisms to address the unity–diversity tension; and (2) challenges prior research that advocates the network administrative organization governance model in addressing the tension.Practical implicationsFor practice, the paper identifies a suite of lateral accountability practices designed to address the unity–diversity tension. For policy, it provides confidence for government in promulgating the lead organization governance model in “purchasing” public services.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates how lateral accountability mechanisms may be used to provide a balance between the objectives of preserving and leveraging the benefits of partner diversity and achieving unity. The strength-based approach (used in enacting the accountability mechanisms), while having a history in psychology and social work research, has not been recognized in prior partnership accountability and governance studies.