Mr. Sean Garvey:

The normal process is for asylum seekers to go to the Balseskin reception centre in north County Dublin where they are initially screened. That includes getting access to relevant services within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the HSE, including a medical card, PPS number and optional health screening. With the increase in numbers seeking asylum, a number of people have gone directly to emergency accommodation and have not had that initial screening.

That means they arrive in the community without access to GP services or a medical card. As Mr. Tyndall said, we have been working with the HSE and the Department to ensure processes are put in place on the ground in order that when people arrive in the community without those services, they get access within as short a period as possible. The normal process is that they have prearranged access before they go to the community, but with a number of people going through emergency accommodation, that is not currently happening in all cases.