Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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450. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the emergency reception and orientation centre based in Monasterevin, County Kildare is no longer being used as an EROC centre; the reason it is no longer being used; and the locations to which persons living in the centre have moved. [35672/18]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) was approved by Government Decision on 10 September 2015 in response to the migration crisis which has developed in Southern Europe, and as an act of solidarity with other Member States.

Under the Programme, a network of Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres (EROCs) was established to provide initial accommodation to meet the needs of asylum seekers relocated from Greece as well as the needs of programme refugees from Lebanon. The role of an EROC is largely about reception and orientation for those who are to be subsequently resettled and the accommodation of persons in EROCs for a period of time is considered to be good practice by the UNHCR as it allows for a period of acclimatisation, de-stressing and on-site processing.

In the case of Monasterevin, County Kildare, the premises in question was contracted as an EROC until August 2018. The premises had also been offered to the Department as part of an 'Expressions of Interest for the Provision of Accommodation Services to Persons in the Protection Process' which was advertised in the National Press in January of this year. Given the continued high demand for accommodation services for persons seeking international protection, the Department has contracted the Hazel Hotel to provide accommodation and ancillary services to those persons for a 1 year period.

All persons in the IRPP cohort who had been living in the Centre at the time of closure have been relocated to another EROC.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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451. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of emergency reception and orientation centres here. [35673/18]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Before arrival in Ireland, programme refugees and asylum seekers are interviewed abroad by Department officials to assess their needs and vulnerabilities and to initially orient them to Irish life and society. Following their arrival in Ireland, and during their initial period of reception, they are accommodated in an Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre (EROC). As the name suggests, an EROC is largely about reception and orientation for those who are to be subsequently settled around the country. In the EROCs both cohorts receive broadly the same integration services with due account being taken of the fact that certain things may not be able to happen until individuals receive a decision on their application for a grant of international protection. IRPP staff hold regular clinics in the EROCs, often at weekly intervals, at which individuals and families may discuss their needs and requirements. The client group also receive an orientation and language training programme while in the EROC.

Following the conclusion of a recent public procurement competition, Mosney, Co. Meath and Clonea Strand, Co. Waterford will be awarded contracts for the provision of EROC services. These contracts will be for an initial 2 year period.

In addition, the Abbeyfield Hotel in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon is contracted to the Department to provide an EROC until December 2019.