Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 December 2020

Public Accounts Committee

2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality

4:30 pm

Ms Oonagh Buckley:

I will take this question. Early in the pandemic, the Department of Justice made a decision that we would reduce occupancy of rooms to no more than three non-family members. In the majority of cases, it was down to two following on from the extra capacity that had been brought on board. However, all of those data have now been transferred to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We can ask it to come back with an estimate of how many rooms still have three non-related persons living in them. It may have a difficulty providing that information because the numbers ebb and flow all of the time. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth provided us with global numbers in preparation for this meeting, which have change significantly over the last three weeks in terms of people in emergency centres and people in other centres and so forth. What is provided will be snapshot but we will ask for it to be provided.