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

Thank you, Ceann Comhairle, for your intervention and your comments.

Since January, approximately 2,400 beds have been brought into use for those seeking accommodation by the international protection accommodation services. That said, week in, week out, we are opening new accommodation centres in communities across the country. Thankfully, by and large, they go unremarked upon because, for the most part, local communities have welcomed these new arrivals and people are getting on with their lives, including those people trying to build a new life in a new country with all the hardship that entails.

Since January 2022, the Department has brought over 200 additional properties into use to accommodate those who arrive in Ireland seeking international protection. I wish to pay credit to the Department's officials. They are invisible and they are criticised quite a lot but they are working constantly to try to bring more bed spaces into use. The evidence is there in that regard.

For context, at the end of January 2022, IPAS had 8,300 bed spaces in use and it now has approximately 28,000 beds in use. That was at a time when there was a very large demand for beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTP, beds.

Initial offers of accommodation are received by the international protection procurement service, primarily through its email portal, ipps@equality.gov.ie. Once an offer is received, the IPPS sends a proposal template to the prospective provider that he or she is required to complete and return. I wanted to put out there how we do this and how we need people to contact us. As with most issues these days, especially those related to immigration and the international protection system, misinformation and fabrication are rife. I urge all Members in both Houses, and the wider public, to be cognisant of that proliferation of misinformation and to desist from feeding, creating and developing it. I ask them to please desist from trying to stir anger in communities, where they really do not need to do so.

I will pick up on an issue raised regarding concerns about unaccommodated people. I will clarify, and most people know this, that drop-in day services are provided to all non-accommodated persons who wish to avail of them. In such centres, international protection applicants can access facilities, including hot showers, meals and laundry services, seven days a week. I know that is not good enough but I want those facts to be out there. It is important to note, unfortunately, that some of the awful scenes of protest and criminal damage we have seen in a small number of areas have negatively impacted on our ability to secure IP beds. I ask people, especially Deputies, to reflect on that.

I will give a piece of information in respect of a point raised by Deputy Bríd Smith. There is 24-hour security at Crooksling at present. That is an important point to make.

I will briefly mention the community engagement team, CET. Between September 2023 and now, the CET has issued 63 briefings to our stakeholders, including public representatives, local authorities, local development companies and key departments and agencies. Within this, the CET has facilitated approximately 30 meetings with public representatives, local development companies, community groups and residents. Others have involved direct engagement with public representatives, including many phone calls and online briefings, other more hands-on engagements and, in many cases, multiple on-site visits. The CET has responded to queries and follows up on all briefings as swiftly as it can. The team also engages with other stakeholders, outside of the immediate opening of centres, to build relationships and networks with key groups. This includes meeting with communities and a community response for local development companies and other NGOs. It is to be hoped that over the next couple of weeks and months, I will announce further supports for communities that are working on the ground. I echo Deputy Ó Snodaigh's praise of community groups that have stood up and helped us. I am doing my best to see if we can get more resourcing to help in that regard.

I will pick up on Deputy Ó Ríordáin's point on the case of the individual man who was trying to get to Dundrum. That is not how we do things. It is not how it should have happened. I would like to find out more but that might be difficult to do. However, if someone needs to get to a location, we facilitate it, so something went wrong. I apologise for that. I accept that the system has not always operated the way everyone would like. However, I can assure Deputies that actions are always taken with the health and safety of people as a priority. That informs all decisions.

I will pick up on another issue that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, touched on, namely, the potential use of accommodation for BOTPs. As the requirement for accommodation for Ukrainian nationals reduces, the IPPS is actively engaging with the Ukraine division of the Department to utilise any suitable accommodation that may become available. However, this is dependent on the agreement of the provider to accommodate international protection applicants. Different types of contracts are in place so we need agreement from the provider in that regard.

I find it, and have found it since December, very distressing that we are in a situation where we are having difficulty in providing enough accommodation, which results in some people not being accommodated. I ask every organisation in the State, be it a State or non-State body, to please look at their land or property portfolio to see if there is something we might be able to use. I ask them to please contact us if they believe there is anything that is remotely usable, even temporarily, to help us offer sanctuary to those seeking it in their hour of desperate need.

In the spirit of countering some of the less parliamentary behaviour earlier, I thank the Social Democrats for raising this issue. It has been going on since December. Frankly, I would have liked to be able to give it more profile before then. I thank the Social Democrats for initiating a debate on this most urgent of issues.

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