Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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227. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the programmes available for refugees here under the EU relocation programme for permanent housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28943/18]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I wish to inform the Deputy that I have no responsibility to the Dáil for housing matters, which fall under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy I set out below the general processes that apply in the Irish resettlement model.

With regard to the EU relocation programme, and indeed refugee resettlement generally, the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) which falls under the ambit of the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI) within my Department has a coordinating role in respect of all matters related to the settlement of refugees.

Resettlement in communities is coordinated by an Inter-Agency Working Group chaired by the relevant local authority and with members from relevant agencies such as the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Tusla, An Garda Síochána, the Education and Welfare Service, the Education and Training Board and the IRPP. Once a family is resettled in a community, an implementing partner procured by the local authority provides appropriate services for a period of twelve to eighteen months. The standard model is now focussed on an eighteen month period. The implementing partner plays a critical role in ensuring the success of each resettlement through their expertise in community integration and relevant supports. The funding for the implementing partner is provided by the IRPP and the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), both managed under the auspices of my Department.

The implementation of the programme requires a high level of coordination among service delivery agencies at both national and local level. Service provision is mainstreamed and all the main statutory service providers such as Government departments, the HSE, Tusla and local authorities are represented on the national Taskforce which oversees delivery of the programme. The programme is coordinated overall by the IRPP, but service provision remains the responsibility of the relevant statutory entity.

Local authorities source accommodation for refugees, mainly refugee families, according to a distribution key that takes account of a number of factors, including population size and housing need within the local authority area. The Irish Red Cross is also managing a programme to secure accommodation pledged by members of the public and this is largely being deployed to meet the needs of single persons, as few accommodation options exist within the local authority sector for this cohort.