Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if extra funding will be made available to local authorities such as Carlow and Kilkenny that have been chosen to provide accommodation to Syrian refugees; and if they will be asked to extract the funding from their housing budget. [25579/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, an operational sub-group under the auspices of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) Taskforce, composed of all relevant Departments of State and other bodies such as representatives of local authorities and the Irish Red Cross, was established to support the process of housing the families referred to by the Deputy. This sub-group is co-chaired by my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality.

Arrangements are being put in place at local authority level across the country to support the housing of these refugees, including through the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP). Such housing solutions are being funded from the €5.35billion approved by Government under Rebuilding Ireland. It should be noted that a range of other supports are also being made available at local level to support the integration of the families concerned into their new communities.