Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 February 2023

Public Accounts Committee

2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Resumed)

9:30 am

Mr. Kevin McCarthy:

We do foresee that. The Department of Justice has identified significant staffing requirements to help to speed up its processing arrangements. It has strong objectives to try to fast-track or speed up those processing arrangements. This will be helpful in the sense that at least we will have clarity at an earlier point as to people's status. Obviously, however, when people present here they are entitled to accommodation as international protection applicants. One of the challenges I referred to earlier is that even when people receive decisions they remain on in the international protection accommodation with status. This has been the experience and this is part of the challenge we face.