Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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82. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will ensure that all children and families in direct provision being moved from congregated living are housed in own-door or independent living accommodation as close as possible to the community in which they have been residing. [36285/22]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Previously when we discussed direct provision the Minister assured me that moving all remaining families currently in congregated living to own-door independent accommodation was a priority. He did not mention that there was no assurance that this move would consider the wishes of the families concerned or the connections those families had made in communities. Are families being moved far away from their communities to suit the Department rather than the well-being of the families themselves?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As set out in A White Paper to End Direct Provision and to Establish a New International Protection Support Service, my Department is currently working on implementing a new model of accommodation and supports for international protection applicants. Under the new model, an applicant for international protection will initially be accommodated in one of six new integration and reception centres. Accommodation in an integration and reception centre will be own-door for families and own-room for single people with specific supports for people with identified vulnerabilities. These centres will be newly built and operated by not-for-profit organisations on behalf of the State. Residents will remain in the centres for a maximum of four months during which they will undergo a programme of orientation, support and integration. Once the four-month programme is complete, if the applicant has not received a positive first-instance decision on his or her application or is undergoing an appeal process, he or she will transition from an integration and reception centre to accommodation in the community. A local authority allocation has been developed to determine the relative proportion of international protection applicants to be accommodated in each local authority area under the new model. As the White Paper is rolled out, efforts will be made to accommodate families close to communities to which they may have ties. However, this is dependant on where phase 2 accommodation is available and where it is located. My Department cannot provide absolute guarantees on that point.

In the interim, a request for tender was issued by my Department seeking additional accommodation for applicants for international protection that enables families to be accommodated in independent living options. This tender is a key plank in the strategy to end the current reliance on emergency accommodation. The aim is to ensure that all families in the international protection process are accommodated in independent living options once they have completed the initial reception process. The accommodation tendered under this process is now beginning to come on stream.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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The issue is that the Department is doing some good, of course, but in a bad way. Everyone wants to end direct provision as soon as possible. Moving families from congregated settings has to be a priority but must be done in co-ordination with the people involved. A key criticism of direct provision is the undignified way in which people are treated and the infantilising, condescending treatment from being denied the right to cook their own food to being moved around to centres at the whim of providers and officials. Parts of this are being replicated when we decide where people should be moved unilaterally without that engagement with them. As the Minister said, after they have had four months of integration into a community, they then could be moved to somewhere completely different. Families could have built up social networks, children are attending schools and the few who are permitted to work have professional connections. Simply to move these families to where accommodation has been found, to suit the Department but not necessarily the people themselves, is not the right approach. Can this policy be changed?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Deputy Cairns is aware of the major pressures on accommodation throughout the country right now. Our Department, like others, source accommodation where we can. Where we are able to facilitate families in terms of where they have integrated and made connections, we absolutely will seek to do that. Realistically I am not in a position to say I can guarantee that in every situation because there may be areas where we have not been able to secure accommodation. We all know the pressure that is there. We will do our best. We want to change the system. We want to put people at the centre and supporting the needs of individuals and families at the centre but I would be lying to the House were I to make any absolute commitments. It is not possible to make absolute commitments on that at this point.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Dignity is key here. Deputy Connolly's question is next, seeking an update on the plan to end direct provision but that process will be hollow if it is not based on consideration and respect. Unless dignified engagement with asylum seekers is embedded into the Department's interaction with them, any new system will have in many ways failed before it even begins.

Regrettably, Ukrainian refugees are being treated in the same way with no input into where they are being offered long-term accommodation. I appreciate that the Department is dealing with more than 25,000 people and the pressures on housing that the Minister spoke about but engaging with people to do our best to accommodate them in communities in which they are working and children are attending school is a better approach. Ultimately, such an approach would prove more efficient as it avoids delays and disputes caused by the Department dictating that it wants someone to go in one place and them wanting to stay in another place. My point is it is not a reason to not engage.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Moving on to the accommodation of Ukrainians, as the Deputy says, we are accommodating 28,000 Ukrainians right now. We are also accommodating 12,000 people in the international protection process. We are accommodating 41,000 people in total right now. This time last year, we were accommodating 7,000 people. It is a substantial increase in a year and that has put real pressure on the system. That means that the delivery of choice that the Deputy spoke about in terms of Ukrainians is simply not possible right now.

It is not a situation in which I or my Department are pleased to be but our objective in the context, which we must recall in terms of Ukraine is still a wartime context, is to provide safety and security. We have been clear - the Taoiseach has been clear with the Ukrainian President - that we are offering Ukrainians coming here safety and security but we cannot offer choice, regrettable as that might be.