Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. Since the beginning of 2022, Ireland and many other European countries have experienced a significant increase of new arrivals seeking international protection. As of 26 May, there are over 20,600 people accommodated in the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, system as a whole, compared with 11,000 people at this time last year. Combined with the arrival of over 73,000 people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this is the largest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War. Over 64,000 of those are in State-provided accommodation.

I recognise that there are some issues with communications with communities where accommodation centres are being established and the Government is working toward addressing these issues by improving advanced communications, where appropriate, for elected representatives, local authorities and local communities.

Due to the scale of the current crisis, contracted emergency accommodation for those seeking refuge must be occupied on a faster timeline than would otherwise be the case. While efforts are made to notify public representatives and State agencies in advance of utilising a building for the accommodation of people seeking international protection, the emergency nature of the response means that advance communications are not always as early as my Department would like.

Where possible, before the opening of any facility the Department engages with local elected representatives to provide information as soon as possible following the agreement of terms with contractors. These constraints limit the time window for advance engagement. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, my officials and I have also made significant efforts to engage with a series of community organisations when new centres are opening to provide information and to dispel any misinformation being circulated.

The Department of An Taoiseach is currently developing a communications strategy aimed at developing a national model that will support communications with communities where accommodation centres are opening. The aim of this work is to provide accurate information to communities and to work to ensure that misinformation will be corrected.

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