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

As Deputy Connolly knows, in February 2021, the Department published the White Paper to end direct provision and it contained three core themes: accommodation, integration and supports.

Since the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions, more than 15,000 people have come to Ireland seeking international protection, and at the same time more than 84,000 people have fled from Ukraine, the vast majority of whom have required accommodation from the State. In that context, there is a recognition that the underlying assumptions on which the White Paper was based, namely, 3,500 people arriving per year, need to be re-examined. This work is being undertaken by the White Paper programme board and I hope to bring proposals to Cabinet shortly in that regard.

In terms of accommodation, the focus is on providing more State-owned capacity, in particular through the development of phase 1 - reception and integration centres. In conjunction with this work, my Department has purchased approximately 30 phase 2 properties around the country. These are going to be used by vulnerable international protection applicants, and they will be operated by approved housing bodies. The Department has also introduced independent monitoring of direct provision centres by HIQA, providing greater confidence on the standards being applied in international protection accommodation.

To improve the ability to integrate, this Government has granted international protection applicants the right to work after six months, the right to apply for driving licences, and access to bank accounts. My Department is providing funding for new integration teams in each local authority to better help international protection applicants engage with existing local services. We have launched a national integration fund worth €1.6 million each year to support projects and communities to help integrate international protection applicants and to provide them with training and skills.

In terms of supports, my Department has for the first time introduced vulnerability assessments for new international protection applicants. This allows the Department to identify those applicants who are in greatest need of support within the system. In addition, we recently provided €1.3 million in support to children and young people's services committees to develop support for services for children and young people living in direct provision.

Finally, the REALT network of language supports for Ukrainian children has been extended to provide support to children in international protection in terms of securing school places and additional supports.

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