Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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252. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if books are provided to Syrian refugees residing in accommodation centres under the scope of his Department's resettlement programme; if so, if these books are provided by the Reception and Integration Agency, the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration, the relevant accommodation centre or other bodies; the names of those bodies; the number of books in each accommodation centre; the type of books provided, for example, fiction, language skills or personal development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41790/17]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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253. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if books are provided to those residing in direct provision; if so, if these books are provided by the Reception and Integration Agency, the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration, the relevant accommodation centre or other bodies; the names of those bodies; the number of books in each accommodation centre; the type of books provided, for example, fiction, language skills or personal development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41791/17]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 and 253 together.

All services for protection applicants or refugees residing in State provided accommodation are delivered under the Government policies of direct provision and dispersal.

This system of direct provision is the system whereby State services are delivered directly to protection applicants through the relevant Government Department or Agency – for example the Department of Education & Skills delivers education services through the established school system; the HSE delivers medical services through the established GP and hospital systems.

In the case of the Department of Justice & Equality, full board accommodation and related services are offered to residents while their application for protection is being processed. Not every person who seeks international protection in Ireland chooses to accept the offer of full board accommodation and of course many choose to live with colleagues, family or friends in communities across the country, as they are entitled to do.

Refugees who are resettled to Ireland as part of our resettlement programme are also provided with accommodation and related services in a number of EROCs around the country.

Books - be they novels, educational literature, personal development texts, etc. - are available in all accommodation centres. This may be as a result of the provision of State services (eg Reception and Integration Agency, Citizens Information Board, Department of Education and Skills, Department of Social Protection etc), interactions with local and national NGOs, charitable organisations, voluntary donations, personal possessions or otherwise. Residents in those centres may also, like any other person living in a community in Ireland, access public libraries.

In addition to this, WIFI facilities are available in all accommodation centres through which residents may access online library and book sources etc.