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

In terms of the future obligation on the State to accommodate an increased number of protection applicants from what we were dealing with over the past ten years, I have been clear that I believe we need to have a much higher percentage of those applicants accommodated in State-owned accommodation. Where we have State-owned accommodation, we have better control over the conditions. We have better control of the location as well and we can locate these around the country rather than having accommodation focused in particular areas. Importantly, as Deputy Funchion raised, there is also a value-for-money issue as well. Certainly, when one looks at it over a ten-year period, the State makes a saving if it puts in the capital investment in terms of State-owned accommodation rather than using providers. Going forward, because of the significant increase in the number of international protection applicants, it will have to be a mix. There will be some private providers continuing to provide accommodation but we have to grow that State-owned element where we have much greater control of conditions and locations. We can plan it much better, including in terms of ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.

See this speech in context