Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I am the first speaker since yesterday's events. It is nice to be able to speak in a proper forum. After what happened yesterday, business continues.

The item I will speak about is local to me. It is Ryevale House, which is a period house in Leixlip and in the past two years there have been major issues surrounding it in the locality. I will give a quick timeline to give the Minister of State a bit of perspective. On 27 January 2023, the Department informed the local public representatives of the intention to accommodate international protection, IP, applicants in Ryevale House, which is a private dwelling built in the 18th century and included in the record of protected structures maintained by Kildare County Council. On 2 February 2023, I was in the group of members of the Ryevale Lawns Residents' Association that met then Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, in Leinster House, and explained that the use of Ryevale House, which is a private dwelling and protected structure, would be in breach of planning legislation. Kildare County Council issued a determination under section 5 that the change in use and development was not an exempted development and required planning permission. That was more than two years ago today. Kildare County Council issued a formal warning letter to the developer and has continued to deal with the development along those lines.

On 31 March 2023, the Department wrote to the residents' association stating that it disagreed with Kildare County Council and ultimately that it would be wrong. On 2 June 2023, Kildare County Council referred the question to An Bord Pleanála. Although it took a long time - a year and five months - on 5 November 2024, An Bord Pleanála confirmed that the change of use of Ryevale House to IP accommodation and the related works are both developments that are not exempted for the purpose of the Planning and Development Acts. Thus, Kildare County Council and An Bord Pleanála back up the residents' association, which shows what is going on is in contravention of our planning rules.

As a councillor, I always knew, looked at and worked with our planning rules. They are the basis of all developments in County Kildare and across the country. We have to fundamentally look at them and continue to follow them. What has happened here goes against the spirit of that. We have continued to outline that to the Department. It has been explained to the Department, yet it has continued to be involved with the group that is going against the planning regulations. It continued to the point where Uisce Éireann arrived to carry out a water connection, but even it confirmed it is not required to service unauthorised developments and a connection to an unauthorised development would be considered prejudicial to public health. The connection is on hold as engineers await the decision on a planning issue. That shows that all the elements of the State believe this is not an exempted development and have continued to operate in that vein.

Unfortunately, things have escalated and this has caused difficulty for the residents. It has caused confusion and heartache for many good individuals who work hard and live in the community, nine of whom were issued with letters to go to the High Court in regard to an injunction. I think four of the nine residents, as reported in the Sunday Independent, were not even present on the day it was claimed they were blockading work going on. Good citizens of Ireland are being dealt with in this manner and being brought before the High Court in regard to an injunction. I want the Department to act swiftly, get involved and ensure this item is brought to a swift conclusion.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Neville for raising this issue and offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Foley. Ryevale House in County Kildare is an International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, accommodation centre, contracted to the Department since 2023. It provides shelter to approximately 90 women who are applying for international protection. The basis for applying for international protection, also known as asylum or refugees status, is fleeing war or persecution in one's home country. As international protection applicants, people are entitled to shelter and support under both Irish and EU law. Ireland has seen a sharp increase in the number of people applying for international protection in recent years. The Department provides accommodation to more than 33,000 people today. Since 2021, when we provided 7,000 places, this demand-led system has grown by more than 400%. Pressure on accommodation availability of all types is extremely high. The Department has extended all teams to try to meet this always-growing demand. Yet, despite this effort, more than 3,500 people are without an offer of accommodation since 2023.

The international protection procurement service, IPPS, within the Department is tasked with providing sufficient capacity to meet the demand for accommodation services for international protection applicants, a legal requirement under the recast reception conditions directive. The Department understands there is ongoing engagement between the provider, the local authority, An Bord Pleanála and the courts about planning matters at this property. It is important to note that regulatory matters related to planning are between the local authority and the accommodation service provider. The Department understands that the decision on planning permission for this property is before the courts and it is not appropriate for the Department to comment further on the matter at this time.

If there are matters arising from the court decision on this case that require action on the part of the Department, we will progress these without delay. While demand continues to outweigh supply for accommodation services for people seeking international protection and more than 3,500 people are without an offer of accommodation, Ryevale House will continue to accommodate approximately 90 adult females who are international protection applicants until a court has ruled on those matters. I trust this information is helpful.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I will focus on the planning issues and the ongoing work. This is a beautiful area with a big house and beautiful old trees that were destroyed for no reason. The pictures before and after show a development in a quiet area that has ultimately been destroyed from a conservation perspective.

Matters have got out of hand in the area on that side.

I take the Minister of State's point that "regulatory matters related to planning are between the local authority and the accommodation service provider". I fully agree. In this case the local authority has said it is not an exempt development and it has been backed up by An Bord Pleanála. This is not about who is there, but about process, regulation and how our planning laws work. Kildare County Council and An Bord Pleanála have taken a view on this and they have an understanding of the rules and regulations. They are the experts and they have said it is not an exempt development. I again ask that the Department look at it closely, make a swift decision and bring this to a conclusion. The area has been changed, conservation of the area has been damaged and the residents deserve better. We need to work with everyone and there is a responsibility on the Department to ensure not only that everybody is looked after but that the local people are given a fair hearing and there is an understanding of what is happening at this location.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking this matter, as I said, on behalf of the Minister for children, disability and equality, Deputy Foley. The points the Deputy raised will be brought to the attention of the Minister.

I reiterate the Department understands there is ongoing engagement between the provider, the local authority and An Bord Pleanála in the courts in relation to planning matters at this property. As the Deputy noted, matters related to planning are between the local authority and the accommodation service provider. The Department understands the decision about the planning issue for this property is before the courts and it is not appropriate for the Department to comment further on the matter at this time. If there are any matters arising from the court decision on this case that require action on the part of the Department, it will progress those without delay.

Deputy Neville is a TD for the constituency and obviously the particular points he has raised will be brought to the attention of the Minister. As I said, if there are any matters arising from the court decision that require action on the part of the Department it will progress those without delay. While demand for accommodation services for people seeking international protection continues to outweigh supply, with over 3,300 persons without an offer of accommodation, Ryevale House will continue to accommodate approximately 90 adults who are international protection applicants until the court has ruled on these matters.