Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I want to recognise his engagement with me on Cahersiveen. On the very day I became a Minister, he tracked me down and had a word in my ear about it. He was instrumental in helping to get a good outcome there. Colleagues like the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, were engaging with me significantly on the issue as well and we did get a good outcome there. However the Deputy is absolutely right that Cahersiveen is one example of the wider failings of the direct provision process that have been brought to light in the context of Covid. What the Government is seeking to do is set out clearly in the programme for Government. We are going to end direct provision over the lifetime of this Government and replace it with a new method of accommodation for those in the international protection process, one which properly recognises their dignity but one which is not focused on private provision, which is one of the key issues with direct provision. I have been very clear that this is not going to happen swiftly. This will be a process and the White Paper that the Government will publish by the end of the year will set out how that process will work.

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