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 try to seek as balanced a provision as we can. We have spoken quite a bit about all the pressures that are on us. We do not always have the luxury to be able to select or not select when something becomes available to us. At times, we are taking whatever is available, but we do keep an eye on that. The data around the distribution of beneficiaries of temporary protection are shared with players across Government at all stages. A keen eye is kept on that. The community support fund was put in place to try to support those communities that are seen as having taken on more of their share than others. There is an attempt to reward and support communities that have done so. We are actively involved in proposals regarding what might be perceived as the kind of areas the Deputy has described. We are very keen to get some of those across the line. The fact that we are in 800 centres now between Ukraine and international protection means that there is not a part of the country where people are not being accommodated. But I absolutely accept what the Deputy is saying.