Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I will continue in relation to communications and consultations. Mr. McCarthy said there was correspondence but there has not been, to be perfectly blunt. That is not excusing the nasty narrative that is out there, particularly around single males being accommodated in centres, but the lack of communication does not help and is adding to the hysteria. Mr. McCarthy says he is looking into it now, after the horse is bolted. I appreciate he has a mammoth task, is under severe pressure and is looking at everything.

What he has to tackle is almost insurmountable but I will give an example of what is happening today, which people could replicate in their own areas. A certain impression is given, particularly in relation to international protection accommodation for single males, where it is sourced in multiples of ten and might be in a village setting. It happens overnight, sometimes after dark, and nobody knows anything about it, neither public representatives nor anybody on the ground. Mr. McCarthy mentioned the limited time window for advance communication but it is not really. His Department is already engaging with particular premises and sussing out whatever has to be done. A notification that the Department is looking at this to community leaders, public representatives and local authorities would mean the message is out there and people are informed of what is happening in their community, as opposed to waking up one morning to an additional 50-odd people in the community. They do not know when they arrived or any of that sort of thing.

There is fear regarding resources. Mr. McCarthy said he is now engaging with the HSE and Department of Education. Has he not done that up until now when housing asylum seekers? Has he engaged with the HSE in the past 12 months? If they said there was a shortage of school places in that area, or a chronic shortage of GPs, has the Department cancelled or proceeded with a plan to stay in that area?