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

The ombudsman is absolutely right to highlight the inappropriateness of the direct provision system to deal with the needs of anybody, particularly those of children. That is why we brought forward the White Paper proposing to end direct provision and replace it with a new international protection support service, with all the wrap-around supports it entails. As the Deputy notes, this will take a number of years to achieve, specifically, until the end of 2024. I have outlined some of the immediate actions both IPAS and Tusla are taking, individually within their own spheres but also together. This is important because one of the findings of the ombudsman's report was that the two bodies were not talking to each other. Both now come under my responsibility and that will help to ensure there is full co-operation between them. Our introduction of the vulnerability assessment is really important because it will ensure that when somebody new comes into the international protection system, we can immediately identify specific vulnerabilities they may have and make provision for them within the services we provide.

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