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

Since the beginning of 2022, Ireland and many other European countries have been experiencing a significant increase of new arrivals seeking international protection. As of the 25 June, more than 21,570 people are being accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, system as a whole, compared to 12,000 people at this time last year. Combined with that is the arrival of more than 76,000 displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largest displacement of people in Europe system since the Second World War. More than 65,000 of those people are in State-provided accommodation.

I recognise that there have been some issues with communications in communities where accommodation centres are being established. The Government is working towards addressing those issues by improving advanced communications, where appropriate, for elected representatives, local authorities and local communities. To date, the Department has held 22 online meetings and 17 in-person meetings with local representatives and community groups. Since beginning of 2022, more than 155 emergency accommodation centres have been brought into use by IPAS to provide shelter to seeking international protection. Due to the scale of the present 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 advanced 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 advanced consultation.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, officials and I also make significant efforts to engage with community organisations when new centres are opening, to provide information and to dispel any misinformation being circulated. As the Deputy is aware, the Department of the Taoiseach is currently developing a communications strategy and campaign aimed at developing a national model that will help support communication with communities where accommodation centres are opening. I can tell the Deputy a bit more about that shortly.

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