Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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The matter I am raising is unique. We all know that the issues surrounding asylum seekers and refugees in our country are significant at the moment, but the town of Borrisokane, County Tipperary is unique. The Minister of State visited it and met people there. Unfortunately, various protests have been occurring across Ireland from time to time. In Borrisokane, though, the people are up in arms because the asylum seekers who have been there since 2019 are being evicted. Some are meant to leave in July. If this happens, there will be a protest of a different kind. Uniquely, and probably for the first time, the town liaison committee and many people from surrounding areas will protest the way these asylum seekers are being treated and forced out of their accommodation. They are unique because, in 2019, there were many protests around the country. I recall issues in Ballinrobe, Oughterard and elsewhere. The then Government wanted to get a handle on the situation, so the people of Borrisokane stood up and were counted. I recall the public meetings. They ensured that 16 units initially, and a further four units later, would be used for families from various wartorn areas. These are fantastic people. They made asylum seekers feel welcome and I am proud to represent that town in light of how they dealt with the situation.

There are 96 asylum seekers in Borrisokane now, including 20 families. The majority have got status in recent years while a few have not. There are 27 children in primary school, ten in secondary school and 11 at third level. Many of the adults are working. They are totally integrated. Mr. Sabelo Mavuso coaches underage soccer. He also set up a community garden in the town park. Another person volunteers with the charity ALONE and Isaiah has just won the north Tipperary under-13 C hurling championship. These individuals are part of a range of other community activities. African Day was on recently when all the community came out to support them.

Naturally enough, all of these families are integrated and much loved in Borrisokane. Through time, they may move into other accommodation in the town or in areas nearby. Most have qualified for housing assistance payment, HAP, but they cannot find anywhere to live. Uniquely in 2019, an agreement was made between the then Department of Justice and Equality, which looked after IPAS at the time, and the liaison group, that is, the community of Borrisokane. According to that agreement, if an international protection applicant for status was successful, any subsequent application by that individual to the local authority for financial assistance, that is, HAP, to enable him or her to continue residing in the Riverside centre would be a positive and long-term outcome of the community’s welcome and support. This agreement was signed by Mr. Mark Wilson, principal officer, on 28 November 2019. The community feels that that gentleman did a good job. This is a unique scenario. The word of the Government and the Department has to stand. What are we telling other communities where a progressive change has taken place and asylum seekers have been taken on board? What are we saying to other communities if the word of the Department is not kept, given this agreement from November 2019 and the contract that was signed with the Double Property Group in September 2019?

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for this question. I acknowledge the efforts of the people of Borrisokane over the past four or five years in helping people feel at home.

Ireland and many other European countries are experiencing a significant increase in people seeking international protection. The arrival numbers remain significantly elevated. In the first 20 weeks of 2024, nearly 8,000 people arrived in Ireland seeking accommodation from the State, averaging 398 per week. This was more than five times the average from 2017 to 2019.

The highest weekly number of applications in 2024 was more than 610.

As of 12 May, there are 30,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service system as a whole compared with approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022. More than 1,800 single men are awaiting an offer of accommodation from IPAS currently and receiving an increased expense payment in lieu of that offer. As at 30 April, there were in excess of 5,000 persons with status or leave to remain residing in IPAS accommodation.

Under the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018, those who have had their application determined are no longer entitled to material reception conditions. However, the IPAS continues to accommodate those with status, until such time that they progress into the community.

Riverside accommodation centre in Borrisokane is a contracted international protection centre. To ensure IPAS accommodation centres are available to those currently being processed through the international protection system, IPAS is currently offering transfer to those who have had been granted international protection or leave to remain the greatest length. Single adults and couples who have status for nine months or more, and families who will have status for two years or more are currently being offered a transfer to alternative IPAS accommodation.

Those families, who in July 2024 will have reached two years with status, have been advised of transfer in Borrisokane to alternative accommodation in July 2024. Each family was notified in writing of this in February and March 2024. In recent months, officials have held a number of in-person meetings with those impacted and advised that a transfer to alternative accommodation was under consideration.

The IPAS transition team works in collaboration with Depaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Department of housing and local authorities to support residents with status to exit IPAS accommodation and access housing options.

Those with status have the same housing entitlements as Irish citizens and are supported to register with a local authority and, if required, to avail of the housing assistance payment to secure alternative accommodation. In addition, those with status have the same social welfare entitlements as Irish citizens.

In 2023, more than 2,000 people with a form of status progressed into the community from IPAS. Already, over 1,600 people have done so in 2024.

I understand there were meetings in June 2023 and March 2024 with the dedicated IPAS transition team to set out the position and alerting residents to the existence of the available supports. Residents in Borrisokane also have direct support from integration workers from Peter McVerry Trust who support residents in accessing housing supports.

To reiterate, when Riverside accommodation centre opened at the end of 2019, 7,683 people were accommodated in IPAS accommodation. We currently accommodate over 30,000 people and have a significant number of people awaiting an offer of IPAS accommodation. I can come back to the Deputy with a little more information in a supplementary reply.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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The Minister of State is a good person but that response, by and large, is a standard reply.

I contacted his officials, as he will be aware, this evening to let him know that I would read into the record this agreement from November 2019. I cannot state this any clearer. If the Department, which, granted this, in 2019, was the then Department of Justice and Equality, cannot honour the agreement it made with the town of Borrisokane and with the residents - I met with Maria, Mags, Martin, Keith, Tom and Robert late last week - which was a positive development, what hope have we in Ireland that the Department can be trusted to honour any other agreement? This is unique. The Government has to honour this agreement or make some attempt to honour this agreement. This is in writing, signed by a senior official, to a member of the committee who was a solicitor at the time.

We now have a situation whereby I do not want to be going down to the people of Borrisokane and saying they were sold a pup in 2019. They have done everything that was asked.

The issue here is commercial. The company has a commercial arrangement, by the way, which is up at the end of 2024, according to our information. It is now looking for eight more apartments, which, by the way, they cannot have a contract with because planning has only been granted.

The point I am trying to make here is, given the situation and given what was agreed, why can the Department not ensure for all of these people who qualify for HAP that in some way there is agreement as regards the differential between what potentially is a commercial charge by this company to the Department and what these people are able to pay with HAP? Why cannot an arrangement be made to help these people?

These are vulnerable people. There are so many children involved here. They are totally integrated into the town and the town is not going to let them down. The people I mentioned are not going to let them down. Given what was agreed because of the crisis that the Department was facing in 2019 and it wanted Borrisokane to be different, surely the Department can keep its word, honour that and find some way to ensure that these families, who were treated uniquely at the time in Ireland, are dealt with in a very fair manner.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Notwithstanding the letter the Deputy has, unfortunately there have been other situations around the country where, because international protection applicants have been in IPAS accommodation and because the community have been supportive, the community has not been happy when we have had to move them.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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Did they have a letter like this?

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I heard about the letter in question and I tracked it down today. I am glad it was the Deputy who read the piece into the record, rather than me. My analysis of that commitment was that it showed an incorrect understanding of the different between our mainstream housing supports and IPAS housing supports.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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It is in black and white.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Nevertheless, that is my interpretation of what was written there. That is unfortunate. Notwithstanding that, I understand how the community feel about this. We will endeavour to talk to the resettlement team.

There is potentially a role here as well for the new local authority integration teams. There is potentially a role for the programme I oversee, the social inclusion community activation programme, as well, to see what more we can do in acknowledgement that a lot has been done by the people in Borrisokane and that the people very much feel at home there as well. That is my read of what was written in black and white at that time in a different Department - I can understand how people have interpreted that - but we will look at what we can do in offering people further supports.