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

The money for the integration teams was secured by my Department in budget 2023, so it is available for this year. It is there. It has been given. There has been extensive negotiation with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, on the provision of this. That money is there.

The Deputy is correct about what direct provision was meant to be and that we have ended up with the system still in place 21 years later. Many people are working hard to support the changes we are trying to make. Catherine Day is a member of the expert advisory group that is supporting my Department to make changes. I would like to be in a position to be talking about the full implementation of the White Paper, but we have to recognise that when 15,000 people arrived last year, it changed the landscape. We had to respond to that. The Deputy will be aware my Department has struggled to provide accommodation for all 15,000. We are doing so again and that is important. However, as well as meeting immediate needs, we must look to a long-term move away from direct provision. I hope the update I will provide will be able to give indications.

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