John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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567. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who have been processed through direct provision since its inception; and the number who have been refused the right to remain since its inception. [36937/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The system of Direct Provision was established in 2000 when the then health boards, which were responsible for homeless people, found themselves unable to cope with a large number of individuals who were claiming asylum in Ireland.

The Direct Provision system is a whole of Government system which delivers a wide range of services to those seeking international protection in Ireland. Accommodation and related services are organised by my Department through a series of 32 accommodation centres across the country, which are under contract to the Department.

A key aspect of the Direct Provision system is that State services are provided to those in the protection process in the same manner as they are provided to Irish citizens and those legally entitled to reside here. There is no separate education system, no separate health service, no separate social protection service.

From 2000 to the end of 2016, 76,839 people applied for asylum in Ireland. It should be noted that a significant number of applicants choose not to accept the offer of full-board accommodation and choose to self support themselves or live with colleagues, family members or friends in communities across the country, as they are entitled to do. Since its inception in 2000 to the end of July 2017, 58,680 people had availed of the State accommodation system for those seeking international protection in Ireland.

Overall, from 2001 to the end of this June, the Ministerial Decisions Unit of my Department issued 50,563 asylum refusal decisions. During the same period, 10,197 asylum grant decisions were issued. In addition, a number of those applicants who were not granted asylum may have been granted subsidiary protection or leave to remain subsequent to their initial application. A breakdown of decisions between those residing in Direct Provision and outside of the system is not available.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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568. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the longest duration persons remain in direct provision. [36938/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The following table details the duration of stay by applicants in state provided accommodation at the 31st August 2017. These figures are based on latest entry into state provided accommodation.

The Deputy might be interested to know that information on these and other statistics on accommodation, application and other related matters are available on the website of the Reception & Integration Agency (RIA) - .

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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569. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of direct provision centres and facilities here. [36939/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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All accommodation centres for those persons seeking protection, whether State-owned or privately owned, are operated by commercial companies. There are currently 32 accommodation centres being operated under the direct provision system. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to details of current centre location and contractor is set out below:

Contractors for Accommodation Centres

Since the start of 2016, 3 accommodation centres have been closed - The Staircase in Dublin, Bridgewater House in County Tipperary and Westbourne Lodge in County Limerick.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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570. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the range of ages of persons in direct provision; and the provisions that are made for their health and educational wellbeing. [36940/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Direct Provision system is a whole of Government system which delivers a wide range of State services to those seeking international protection in Ireland. These services include health services as provided by the HSE, education services as provided by primary and post-primary schools and, for adults, Education and Training Boards across the country. The Reception and Integration Agency, whose role is to oversee the provision of accommodation and ancillary services to asylum seekers, has a Health Unit, an Education Unit and a Child and Family Services Unit which can link vulnerable and at risk persons with the appropriate services. It is the role of these units to act as conduits between residents, staff at accommodation centres, state agencies(including TUSLA and the HSE) and local schools.

The age breakdown of persons in direct provision accommodation is as follows: