Written answers

Tuesday, 15 October 2019

Department of Justice and Equality

Asylum Seeker Accommodation

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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281. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount paid to private contractors to source emergency accommodation for asylum seekers since September 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42047/19]

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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My Department is responsible for offering accommodation and related services to international protection applicants while their claim for protection is being examined. These services are demand led and it is difficult to accurately predict demand in advance. Due to an unexpected rise in applications (figures are up 53% in the first nine months of this year), the 38 existing accommodation centres, which offer accommodation, food, utilities and a suite of State services, have reached capacity.

My Department is actively working on securing additional capacity, both in existing centres and through the sourcing of new centres. The Immigration Service of my Department has sought expressions of interest from parties who would be interested in providing accommodation and related services to people in the international protection process and has also launched a nationwide, regional tendering process to source new accommodation centres.

Pending the opening of such new centres, and to ensure that we continue to provide accommodation for all applicants who require it, IPAS has been accommodating applicants in emergency accommodation in hotels and guest houses since September of last year. Every effort is being made to re-accommodate applicants residing in emergency locations to a dedicated accommodation centre as quickly as possible.

The cumulative figures for the expenditure on emergency accommodation are as follows:

September 2018 to end December 2018 - €954,370.50

January 2019 to end September 2019 - €18,020,206.17

Total Spend September 2018 to end September 2019 - €18,974,576.67

I am advised that as of 6 October 2019, there are 1,453 applicants residing in 35 emergency accommodation locations around the country. My Department does not disclose the specific location of emergency accommodation centres in order to protect the identity of international protection applicants.

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