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

The Deputy has asked plenty of questions, and I will do my best to answer. I am absolutely committed to the timeline, and my Department and all other Departments are working towards it. The point the Deputy made on the significant of involving communities in this change is important. We have work to do in terms of explaining exactly what the White Paper is at a national level and also at a specific local level. If community accommodation or a reception and integration centre is being set up locally, work is underway in terms of how that communication happens. My Department has gotten better at that. When we opened the own-door accommodation centre in Letterkenny, I informed each local Deputy of that. My Department engages with the local authority and various groups. It was not perfect, but it was certainly better than what happened in other circumstances.

In terms of the engagement of people within direct provision, their views were sought while we drafted the White Paper. Someone who lived in direct provision is on the programme board and we now have new resident welfare teams to improve the quality of life for people currently in the system.

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