Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I know the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and his team, assisted by others, have pulled out all the stops in recent weeks to secure additional accommodation for international protection applicants. The number of people who have not been offered accommodation is around 250. Not too long ago it was over 500. Of course, people continue to arrive in the State, albeit in lower numbers than was the case some months ago.

I want to be clear that this is a cross-government effort. It is co-ordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach. We have a Cabinet committee on Ukraine and migration, which I chair. My officials chair the senior officials group. Within that every Department has their lead role. The role for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is in reception, integration and accommodation. The role for the Department of Education is in providing education for the 14,000 or 15,000 children who have arrived in the past year. The role for the Department of Health is providing healthcare and medical cards. The Department of Social Protection provides personal public service numbers, PPS numbers, and employment. Some 15,000 people have entered employment. This is very much a cross-government effort. The community fund, announced only last week by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, is a feature of that. This is a cross-government effort co-ordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach. Within that, every Department has a lead responsibility.

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