Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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33. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to end direct provision following the United Nations Universal Periodic Review. [10142/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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While I am aware that this issue was raised during submissions at the recent United Nations Universal Periodic Review, I have no plans to abolish the Direct Provision system which offers necessary and essential supports to those seeking international protection. The report of the Working Group to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers, otherwise known as the McMahon Report, has set out a blueprint for a number of reforms in this area including a number which focus on the Direct Provision system itself.

The McMahon Report indicated a two-way approach towards improving the life of persons within the protection process by (i) improving the application process and thereby reducing the length of time spent by applicants in State provided accommodation and (ii) improving the quality of life of those in accommodation through improvements of services within the accommodation system itself but also the supports available through other agencies and bodies. That Report documented some 173 recommendations. To date, some 90 of the recommendations have been fully implemented and a further 26 are in the process of being implemented.

Major improvements are anticipated in the length of time that applicants spend in State provided accommodation once the International Protection Act 2015 has been commenced. Also, the continuing efforts made to address the situation of those who have been in the system for more than five years, another key recommendation in the Report, is already impacting positively on the numbers of persons in accommodation centres. The Citizens Information Board, supported by a range of other State agencies, is currently providing information sessions within accommodation centres to former asylum seekers who have permission to stay in the State and who are now moving out of the Direct Provision system.

While the Reception and Integration Agency continues to explore ways in which accommodation services can be improved, a number of the more relevant recommendations in this area require construction works which will require time and resources to implement.