Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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73. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in direct provision, by men, by women, by children, by length of time in direct provision, by average waiting time in having an application for asylum finalised, by centre and by county; the overall cost of maintaining direct provision centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19995/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As at 26 June, 2016 there were 4,284 persons residing in accommodation provided by the Reception & Integration Agency (RIA). The latest published detailed monthly statistics are for 31 May 2016 which show that there were 4,499 persons residing in Direct Provision accommodation of which 1,177 were under the age of 18.

While centre by centre details on age and gender are not compiled for the monthly reports, the overall total of 4,499 persons comprise of 1,203 adult females, 2,119 adult males, 565 minor females and 612 minor males.

The vast majority of residents in the Direct Provision system who are awaiting a protection decision are in the system for less than three years. This is a marked change from when the matter was considered by the Working Group on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision which reported on the matter just over a year ago. In that regard, significant progress has been made in the processing of caseloads by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of those longest in the system and this is reflected in both the reduction in the length of time persons are in the system and the overall reducing numbers in Direct Provision accommodation.

In respect of duration of stay in the Direct Provision system, it should be noted that RIA provides accommodation supports for persons who have been granted a protection status and are in the process of transitioning out of the system. It also provides accommodation for failed protection applicants who are the subject of a Deportation Order and who are legally obliged to remove themselves from the State.

The median processing time in respect of asylum decisions taken during the period 1 January 2016 to 30 April 2016 for those in Direct Provision accommodation was 25 months approximately, a reduction of over 3 months on the corresponding period in 2015.

In 2015, the total amount paid for direct provision accommodation was €53.143m. As the Reception and Integration Agency is currently engaged in a tendering process for the provision of services at the seven State owned accommodation centres, it is not considered prudent to provide any further breakdown of the total figure provided at this time. Furthermore while the number of persons accommodated can appear relatively static at times, it masks considerable daily and weekly fluctuations in numbers arriving and leaving.

Further statistics on those in RIA accommodation including centre-by-centre statistics can be found in the Monthly and Annual Reports on the Agency's website www.ria.gov.ie.