David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There have been calls for many years to close direct provision but many improvements have been made. What happens now is that when people arrive in the country and look for international protection, as a State we are obliged to offer them accommodation, heat, food, a bed, education and so on. That is what people get. Many people move through each centre. There are over 1,000 people now in centres who have status to remain and we are struggling to find accommodation for them. It is a very challenging area for everybody. We have been working extremely hard, with the assistance of lots of colleagues here. Many colleagues came under pressure when direct provision centres were opened in their areas. Some of these newer centres have a very high standard, with own-door self-catering accommodation and that is what we want to move towards, more and more. When many people arrived at one time last year, there was a huge spike in numbers, which put a lot of pressure on the accommodation. We were very anxious that people would not be homeless on the streets. That did not happen. There was one instance where a few people were not accommodated but we worked might and main to ensure everybody had a bed, food, shelter, heat, education and so on. We worked to process their applications quickly and move them out of the system, so that if they are allowed to stay here they can get on with their lives. That is what we all want.

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