Dr. Fergal Lynch:

I thank the Deputy and I will try to deal with those questions. He raised a very important question on the overall governance of the system. I agree that at first glance it may look very complex, and I take the point about the different groups. We have tried to streamline it and to make it as straightforward as we possibly can. For completeness, we have included all the different components. However, the major one in the first instance is the Minister and this Department in terms of taking responsibility for trying to pull all of this together.

On the programme board, we regard this as a particularly important component of the total. We then have the external advisory group. I will say a little bit about both of those. The other programme board in the Department of Justice is dealing specifically with the processing issues and how to improve those and at how to deal with the issues in the White Paper that deal with its part of the agenda. Even though it may look complicated, we can pull together the rest fairly successfully within our Department and through bilateral engagements with the other Department as well. We have a very good working relationship with the Department of Justice.

For example, my colleague, Ms Carol Baxter, from our Department, sits on its programme board and we have a colleague in the Department of Justice who sits on our programme board, so there are good interlinkages between the two Departments. The programme board has a former resident of the direct provision system who is making a significant contribution to it. In terms of other stakeholders, these include the Departments, such as the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Health, Justice as well as our Department. There is also the Irish Refugee Council, the Children's Rights Alliance, the UN High Commissioner, the Housing Agency, somebody with a health and social care background and an expert in programme management. That board is functioning very well so far and gives us advice and strong information and links us with organisations with which we would otherwise not have a strong contact. It also deals with monitoring, which is helpful to us.

In regard to the external advisory group I mentioned, I would describe that as having an external, critical friend. I used that term when I met the group last week and it liked it as it says we are not looking for a group that will pat us on the head or tell us we are doing a fine job. We are looking for an external group that looks in critically and objectively and identifies what is going right, what is going wrong, why is it going wrong, why are things being delayed, what things could we do differently and what other approaches could we take and asks whether we have thought about X, Y and Z. Those on the external advisory group are experts in their respective fields. We will probably engage with them informally and bilaterally as well as every other way.

The other components described in the governance note we submitted as part of the briefing are all important, although I will not go into them now. Each has its job to do and they are pulled together by the Department as a whole. We have a co-ordination committee in the Department. Pulling the whole thing together is the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality. We will ensure that we are not simply going from one committee or one group to the next. That is no way to do business and it would not help us to make progress. However having people from these different organisations and agencies on a specific group gives us a contact point and a liaison point with them. At the end of the note we circulated we identify many implementation partners ranging from Departments to the education and training boards to Tusla, the HSE, An Garda Síochána, local authorities, the Housing Agency and so on. It is a complex project about which there is no doubt. We try to streamline the delivery of it as much as possible but I assure the committee that there is good co-operation between the different levels.

In regard to the other questions about moving to other parts of the country and the experience of some people in direct provision who were asked to move elsewhere, we will place a great emphasis on consultation and ensure people are consulted fully and we will try to the greatest extent possible to meet their needs and concerns in terms of what part of the country they will be in. There will be no question of simply uprooting people from one part of the country and moving them to another. We will place a good deal of emphasis on that.

In regard to language skills, our materials are translated and are available in a number of different languages - obviously in the languages most used by those involved - and we will continue to place emphasis on that so that communication is good. Another important element of that is at orientation stage, we provide an offer of intensive English language courses for residents joining us for the first time to help them learn English as soon as possible. That hopefully will improve their level of communication and integration to the system. I hope that answers the Deputy's questions.