Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I thank the Ombudsman for Children for the special report published in October, and I thank Deputy Pringle for sponsoring the discussion this evening and, in so doing, bringing rightful attention to this important issue, which encompasses the matters covered by the report and broader questions as to how Ireland cares for those in the international protection system, children and adults alike.

I have remained committed to providing appropriate reception conditions to all international protection applicants in Ireland during what we all recognise is an unprecedented and emergency situation. I also acknowledge the broader work the Ombudsman for Children's Office has been doing in accepting complaints from or on behalf of children who live in international protection accommodation since April 2017. The staff of the office have made regular visits to children and families who live in international protection accommodation.

The Reception and Integration Agency, which is now known as the International Protection Accommodation Service, engaged with the Ombudsman for Children as part of the latter's 2018-20 own-volition investigation. That engagement took place in February 2018 in conjunction with residents in international protection accommodation. This investigation highlighted a number of concerns about the monitoring and oversight of accommodation centres' obligations under Children First.

The OCO's investigation report made a number of findings and recommendations. In April 2021, the OCO published a statement of its investigation, which determined that its investigation had highlighted systemic deficiencies in inspections, the quality of accommodation, access to an independent internal complaints procedure, and IPAS and Tusla's duties regarding the protection and welfare of children. An action plan to address these recommendations was developed, although completion of some of them was significantly delayed, first by the impact of Covid restrictions and, most particularly, as a result of the sudden increase in international protection applicants arriving from early 2022 onwards.

Since the report of 2021, the Government has put in place a number of measures to address concerns, including the monitoring of centres for adherence to national standards, resident clinics, the vulnerability assessment pilot programme, publication of a revised IPAS child safeguarding statement and child protection briefings to managers and staff at IPAS centres. More recently, my Department has, in conjunction with the ESF and with EU funding, co-funded family support practitioners for families living in IPAS accommodation to support the pathway for integrated community-based child and family services.

The special report, published on 19 October 2023, made three recommendations regarding international protection accommodation, focusing on the use of commercial hotels, quality assurance and vulnerability of children. Regarding recommendation No. 1, which called for IPAS to cease the use of commercial hotels and plan for accommodation centre capacity, I acknowledge that the number of people seeking international protection currently resident in emergency accommodation centres remains high. My Department is working hard to procure new accommodation and transition current residents from emergency accommodation centres to more permanent accommodation within the portfolio. This year, we have added almost 10,000 spaces for international protection applicants. Many of these have been emergency spaces, but there have been new requests for tenders for accommodation that meet the national standards. Currently, there are more than 25,000 persons in IPAS accommodation. Since the beginning of 2023, over 10,000 people have arrived seeking international protection, the vast majority of whom have been accommodated by IPAS via my Department. Due to the significant increase in people requiring accommodation, there has to be a requirement for a blended approach of accommodation options, including commercial and private providers. This is not what my Department or I would like, but it is an absolute necessity if we are to provide accommodation for those arriving in Ireland. These options are required to provide a high standard of reception conditions, including the provision of on-site supports that adhere to a professional and human-centred approach and are in line with the national standards.

The commitments made in A White Paper to End Direct Provision and Establish a New International Protection Support Service are still a key priority for my Department. I will speak more about those commitments when I conclude.

Regarding recommendation No. 2 of the OCO's report, which was to put in place a robust quality assurance mechanism, including an independent inspectorate, my Department has continued a programme of improvements initiated by the McMahon working group. The national standards were adopted by the Government and published in 2019 and came into effect at the beginning of 2021. The Government agreed that HIQA should monitor the centres for adherence to the standards. This agreement is time limited to the end of 2024, although it may be extended by agreement.

The national standards address a range of issues relating to accommodation, food and catering, individual, community and family life, health and well-being, governance, and meeting the special reception needs of applicants seeking international protection. In practical terms, compliance can only be adequately measured through on-site assessment. HIQA's role will apply to all "permanent" centres contracted by IPAS, as emergency centres are subject to separate contractual arrangements. IPAS accommodation centres are already subject to regular unannounced inspections by officials in my Department and by an independent inspectorate company. In advance of the introduction of independent monitoring, IPAS has taken steps to support adherence to the national standards through its contract arrangements with accommodation centres. All properties selected under IPAS’s most recent tender process will be required to implement the national standards.

The request for tenders for the inspection of accommodation provided by this Department was published on eTenders in October, with a closing date of 31 October. Submissions are currently being evaluated and it is hoped that an inspection service will be in place in quarter 1 of 2024. To date, HIQA has completed pilot inspections of the three State-owned IPAS centres to better inform the formal inspection process.

Recommendation No. 3 is on IPAS having regard to the vulnerability of children within the international protection process in the planning and provision of their accommodation needs. Since 1 February 2021, the IPAS resident welfare team has made a determination regarding vulnerability in the case of more than 4,000 persons. More than 2,600 persons were deemed vulnerable, of whom over 800 were minors. While all children are deemed vulnerable by default, the pilot programme helps IPAS to identify children and young people with additional vulnerabilities earlier in the process and address their accommodation and reception needs insofar as possible.

Ongoing demands on the service due to significantly increased numbers have resulted in wait times for assessments being affected. Given the ongoing challenges faced by IPAS with sourcing accommodation, IPAS works with residents through the vulnerability assessment programme and clinics to signpost people to relevant information and services that may be helpful to them. In cases where significant vulnerabilities or complex needs are identified, IPAS endeavours to identify the most suitable accommodation within the overall constraints of the accommodation available. Where possible, it will improve the alignment between accommodation and vulnerabilities where accommodation that is more appropriate becomes available.

When new IPAS centres open, IPAS notifies the centre managers that it is mandatory that all staff complete the Children First e-learning module. IPAS ensures that centre managers are categorised as designated liaison persons under Children First and notifies them that they are required to make mandatory reports to Tusla of concerns, above the defined threshold, relating to children resident in their respective centres. IPAS also monitors the centres’ adherence to requirements of Children First. IPAS continues to engage with Tusla in respect of its report, "Child Safeguarding Statement Sector Compliance Review: International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS)", which was developed by the child safeguarding statement compliance unit, CSSU, in August 2023. Following significant engagement by the CSSU, all statements reviewed were deemed compliant. The report only considered statements from non-emergency settings.

IPAS will continue to engage with Tusla in respect of the report’s findings and recommendations and to promote and improve child safeguarding practices in all accommodation settings. IPAS continues a programme of child protection briefings to management and staff in all IPAS accommodation centres. The main focus of these briefings is on reporting child welfare and protection concerns to Tusla and An Garda Síochána. IPAS engages with centre managers on all child safeguarding procedures. A revised IPAS child safeguarding statement was deemed compliant by the Tusla's CSSU and was published on the IPAS website in August 2023.

The resident welfare team has developed a number of resources for children living in direct provision centres, including a parenting support booklet, a children’s cybersafety guidance booklet, a children’s complaints procedure, a children’s feedback form and a dedicated mailbox for children and young people to contact IPAS: yourvoice@equality.gov.ie. The resident welfare team has seconded education welfare officers from Tusla's education support service. They work closely with centre management to assist with school places and transport for children living in IPAS accommodation centres.

Supports for children living in IPAS accommodation centres are provided by IPAS and a range of Departments and Government agencies that work together to provide services for people living in IPAS accommodation centres. Following a decision by the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, the REALT programme, which was initially introduced to support Ukrainian children who had fled to this country and integrate them into local schools, has been extended to children in international accommodation as well. I welcome this equality of treatment between children in the IP programme and children who have fled here from Ukraine.

I thank the Ombudsman for Children and his office for their ongoing dedication to engaging with and supporting so many vulnerable children around the country. My officials are committed to responding to the concerns raised in what is an extremely challenging context while doing our utmost to provide safety and shelter to those who seek it in Ireland.

That context is huge. It is challenging and is of a scale and magnitude many times beyond that which my Department had been dealing with prior to or within the first year I came into office and when the White Paper was originally published. I am the first to recognise that there are major challenges but we have the ability to meet them. I agree with Deputy Pringle on having a focus on greater amounts of State-owned accommodation being the way to go forward in order that we are not so reliant on the private sector. We have to recognise that we are going to see greater levels of migration to this country, particularly those people seeking international protection. While 15,000 people last year is a lot, it is actually a very small number compared with the numbers many other EU member states absorb. We need to scale up accommodation options and the responses. The scale of that will be far greater than what we anticipated when the White Paper was drafted. At that time, we were dealing with somewhere between 3,500 and 4,500 people arriving here every year. The necessity to scale up is something that will have to be done across Government. My Department will continue to play its role to plan for the future, while also meeting the needs of everybody in international accommodation now, and in particular of children.

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