Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. As we all know, this is an emergency situation. During the 90-day period in which people are in this designation accommodation, the beneficiaries will be supported in trying to find employment and sourcing accommodation which may be private or pledged, as I said earlier. The Department of children is actively standing up arrival centres for use at the start of the 90-day accommodation policy. The Department is identifying sufficient capacity of centres for designation and locations will be confirmed as soon as they become available.

As regards what we are doing in my Department with communities on the ground and people who have come here, we are working through the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, for which additional money was provided in budget 2024. We work closely with the local development companies. We are supporting them. They are doing great work on the ground throughout the country. They are engaging with new communities and helping them to integrate. They are breaking down barriers and the preconceived notions and perceptions that some people have. They are doing a significant amount of good work on the ground and we will continue to support them through the Department of Rural and Community Development.

We have the community recognition fund, for which €50 million was announced last year. That has been rolled out to accommodate communities that have taken in a high number of international protection applicants and Ukrainians. There is a lot of work taking place on the ground. I accept that we need to strengthen that further. We will do so.