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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 102 together.

The arrival of more than 70,000 people seeking accommodation in Ireland, displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine - the largest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War - and those seeking international protection has placed severe pressure on the State to respond to this challenge. As of 29 January 2023,19,635 people are accommodated in the international protection system as a whole, compared with 7,500 in late 2021. Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. Approximately 60 accommodation locations across 17 counties have been utilised since January 2022.

In regard to international protection applicants, all the limited accommodation capacity in the IPAS is currently being used. In this context, the Department has no option but to consider all offers of accommodation made to it, including the use of office buildings and sports facilities, to address the accommodation shortfall. While offers of accommodation received from locations in Clare will continue to be appraised, my Department is working with the Office of Public Works, OPW, to develop a proposal to use a State-owned property in Shannon, Unit 153 of the Shannon Free Zone, for IPAS accommodation. Engagement is ongoing. It is not possible to provide final details prior to designs being decided and a facilities provider is contracted to operate the facility. It is anticipated that the property will come online later this year.

The OPW confirmed on 30 January that the fire officer had reviewed the proposals for Unit 153 and was satisfied the design meets fire safety requirements. The OPW awaits a final formal approval from the fire officer but is confident that the layouts shown are acceptable. The OPW does not envisage any problems and is progressing on this basis in order to expedite the project. The International Protection Procurement Services, IPPS, advised the OPW it is satisfied with the proposed design. The next step is for the OPW to move to detailed design and request a contractor to price the works. The OPW will review the price proposal and if it is fair and reasonable will progress the project with the current contractor. If the price is regarded as excessive the detailed design will be issued to the other framework members to price. The design team met again on 2 February and were asked when it expects to be in a position to give indicative timescales for the delivery of detailed designs, costings and a start date for occupancy. The OPW has been requested to revert with this information to the IPPS as soon as possible.

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