Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)

I want to raise an ongoing issue causing confusion and frustration in communities across Ireland in relation to the IPAS system. I want to highlight specifically the issue in Macroom. Over the past couple of months, residents in Macroom have been left in a state of uncertainty regarding a proposed development of 20 apartment-style units for IPAS accommodation. The application was granted permission. Objections were raised, yet when I sought clarity the Department told me it is not currently considering any properties in the area and planning permission does not mean that it intends to contract a property for IPAS accommodation.

The community has gone through months of anxiety, speculation, rumour and unnecessary division, all because there is no coherent system or proper communication with the community and no transparency from the Government around the IPAS system. Macroom is not unique. The confusion is being repeated in towns and villages across the board. Communities hear one thing from a provider, another thing from planning documents, something different from the Department and nothing at all from the Government. That is not how migration works or how international protection should be managed in a modern and functioning state.

This chaos is a result of policy failure. The international protection system is in crisis mode at the moment. Decisions are taking far too long. Appeals take too long. Deportations are rarely, if ever, enforced. The placement of IPAS centres is being driven by profits and not the need for capacity or planning. Communities are not being consulted or told anything. They are expected to absorb these centres without the Government investing in proper infrastructure for areas.

This approach is failing everybody, including communities and people who are applying for international protection, and it is undermining confidence in the system. We now have a situation where people do not know what to believe, who is responsible or what is happening. This vacuum is dangerous. It breeds misinformation and allows bad faith actors to stoke division. The Government has to take responsibility for that.

Fine Gael is introducing a motion on migration today. We urgently need a full and substantial debate in the House on the IPAS system, its failure and what reforms are necessary for the system. Communities deserve a system that is planned, structured and fair and not one which is chaotic, ad hoc and profit driven. We need a model that reflects that. I ask the Leader to schedule a debate as soon as possible because the current approach is unsustainable and unfair and undermines confidence nationwide.