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

That is why it is important that the Department has the capacity to proactively undertake inspections in respect of international protection accommodation and accommodation for people from Ukraine and to be able to react where a complaint is raised in order that we can go out and respond to it. That is why, as well as bringing in HIQA, I am also looking to further extend our inspection capacity. That can provide a degree of reassurance to everybody.

As the Deputy says, we have very significant reliance on the private sector now. That is a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the subsequent impact it has had on the numbers of international protection applicants arriving in Ireland. The Deputy is right that it is not ideal and not the situation we want to be in. One of the things I will be looking towards, especially on the international protection side of things, is increasing State capacity to accommodate people and increasing State accommodation where we have absolute control over the type of accommodation and the standards being delivered. We are particularly looking at the type of phase 1 reception and integration centres outlined in the White Paper.

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