Ms Sheenagh Rooney:

I might come back on a number of interventions that take place at various junctures to assist the BOTPs in their integration. The scale of the response requires an all-of-government effort and there are a number of structures to support that but, in the first instance, when BOTPs arrive in CityWest, they have access to medical triage, so those who are vulnerable are taken care of at that stage. Supports are also provided by the Department of Social Protection, such as the medical card. There is an all-of-government presence at CityWest.

As for the allocation of BOTPs to certain areas, the Deputy is very aware of the challenges with accommodation provision. We accept all suitable offers through the portal, but staff from the Department of Education work with rail co-ordinators on pressures in schools, so we are very aware of them. We have staff seconded to us from the Department of Health and we have a dedicated team who deal with vulnerable cases that arise on the health side.

Then, as has been mentioned by our colleagues in the local authority sector, there is a very active community response forum in every local authority, which involves all the agencies. Of course we need to do more, but there are structures in place.