Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge it is an issue that she rightly raises on a regular basis, as one would expect, because it is a major issue and one of challenge. I assure her and the people of her constituency who are experiencing the barriers issue and the people more broadly across Ireland that we are endeavouring in real time to move from an emergency response to migration to a more sustainable model and we are having to do that in real time. I make that point because what we have seen happen in recent years in Ireland is that the numbers of people seeking refuge have very significantly increased and the systems and structures in place have to be developed around that. We are certainly not unique in this. I am just back from the European Council last week where we had a discussion on the outcome of the European elections. Whether it was a prime minister or president from a big or small country or one in the east or west, whether he or she was a socialist or conservative, every single person highlighted migration policy as the biggest policy challenge they are dealing with in their country.

I say that by way of context. The Deputy is right that we have published a comprehensive accommodation strategy for international protection applicants and that was approved by Government on 27 March. The aim here is to try to move from that emergency response and also that reliance on the private market. This idea that someone is losing the local hotel, bed and breakfast accommodation or community centre is just not good enough. The aim is to move away from that to a more sustainable model. A lot of work is under way to progress that. The first aspect of that strategy is to identify the use of State land. The Deputy will know this from public commentary but I can confirm to her today that there is a site we are currently working on in Dublin to utilise State land. I expect that to come onstream in the next number of weeks. That is going to be a very important development in being able to say to people who come to our country that we can provide them with accommodation. I have to be honest. In the first instance, it will be tented accommodation but it will be safe tented accommodation with access to sanitation, which is a marked cry from what we saw on Mount Street only a number of months ago.

I take the point about the barriers. Some barriers have been removed in certain locations. I believe some have been removed around the International Protection Office as well; I am certainly told of that. I also know there are quite a lot of barriers up. It is a matter for Waterways Ireland to decide when best to remove them and it is obviously having to balance a number of different challenges. We have seen some progress on accommodation. For example, I saw a situation regarding Charlemont Street recently where there had been tents. I am advised by International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, that every single person who was there has been offered accommodation. In real time, and the Deputy is good enough to acknowledge this, there are incredible people both in the voluntary sector and, I would argue, in IPAS and other units, who are working to provide accommodation solutions to people. We have seen several hundred more people provided with accommodation but none of this is easy. In conclusion, I do not think any conversation about migration can just be on accommodation. I know the Deputy shares that view. It also has to be around processing times. That is why yesterday we added five more countries to the safe country list and two more countries to the visa requirement list and why I will chair a Cabinet committee next week on migration where we will have a chance to get a further update on the comprehensive accommodation strategy. I will be happy to update the Deputy further at that stage.

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