Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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228. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of units of PPE provided to each direct provision centre for staff use and for use by persons seeking international protection. [10066/20]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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262. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of additional financial support given from March to May 2020 to provide PPE to persons in direct provision during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10472/20]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 and 262 together.

I can inform the Deputy that the total expenditure for the provision of PPE for International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres for the period from March to end May 2020, was €521,488.27.

During this time, centre managers have been advised to increase the standard and frequency of cleaning throughout the centres, paying particular attention to communal areas. A regular supply of hand sanitiser for centres is in place and this is distributed to centres as required. Other PPE is distributed, as needed, and in line with the HPSC guidelines for its appropriate use in residential settings.

The overall figures for PPE items which were dispatched to the various IPAS accommodation centres are as follows:

These figures are approximate. Unfortunately, my Department is not currently in a position to extract the detail of what was dispatched to each location due to staffing resources and the fact that it would take a significant amount of time to collate the data.

In partnership with the HSE and Safetynet, my Department has also put in place a national clinical telephone service to provide public health advice to support centre staff. It is also being used to advise, support and work with locations where vulnerable groups are present relating to the implementation of COVID-19 guidelines and measures.

My Department and I will continue to work hard with local management, health agencies, and NGOs to provide every support possible to the residents and staff in our accommodation centres at this difficult time.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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229. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he has consulted with a nutritional and dietary professional in respect of the catering and food services provided in direct provision centres; and if persons with special dietary requirements are catered for in respect of food services in direct provision. [10067/20]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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It is a contractual obligation on all service providers of accommodation centres that culturally appropriate food options should be provided to residents. Service providers must also prepare menus that meet the reasonable dietary needs of the different ethnic groups accommodated at the accommodation centre and the reasonable prescribed dietary needs of any person accommodated at the centre.

Menus must include a vegetarian option and all food products provided must have a traceability system that complies with food safety requirements. It is a contractual obligation for catered accommodation centres that a 28 day menu be provided and that residents are consulted on that 28 day menu. Residents can advise their centre manager of any dietary requirement that they have and this will be facilitated, where possible. Arrangements can also be made to cater for particular religious dietary needs, for example, Muslim residents observing Ramadan.

Accommodation centres which have moved to the independent living model, where residents are provided with ingredients and household items and cook for themselves, must provide a wide range of products which are culturally appropriate and meet the dietary needs of residents. Approximately half of all residents now have access to independent living.

We have continued the roll-out of independent living with self-catering facilities to centres and regional tenders now mandate independent living for all new centres procured through that process.

All accommodation centres are subject to regular unannounced inspections by both staff from the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) of my Department and an independent inspector. Part of the inspection process deals directly with the provision of food services. Meals are assessed during inspection for quality, cultural appropriateness and variety of menu options. Any issues identified are notified to the contractor to be addressed immediately.

In August 2019, Minister Flanagan and I published new National Standards for accommodation centres. These Standards were developed through an Advisory Group including representatives from UNHCR Ireland and the NGO sector. The Standards will come into force in January 2021, and they contain commitments in relation to food including access to a varied diet that respects residents' cultural, religious, dietary, nutritional and medical requirements.

Any complaints in relation to dietary matters should be brought to the centre manager in the first instance. If the resident is not satisfied with the outcome, they can make a complaint directly to IPAS, which will be investigated by IPAS officials and acted on appropriately. If the matter is still not resolved to the resident's satisfaction, they can raise a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman for their investigation.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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230. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if each direct provision centre has conducted a risk assessment regarding Covid-19; if each centre has sufficient self-isolation rooms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10068/20]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The International Protection Accommodation Services Unit (IPAS) of my Department is working very closely with the HSE and centre management centre to protect the health and welfare of our residents and centre staff as well as that of the wider community at this time. We have been assured by both the HSE and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer that our approach is appropriate.

All accommodation centres are carefully following the guidelines for our centres that have been published by the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre, which can be found on its website www.hpsc.ie. That guidance exists precisely because it is recognised that congregated settings such as Direct Provision centres present specific challenges in this pandemic.

IPAS has a dedicated team in place to work with accommodation centre managers so that they can manage any situation that may arise and the team are in daily contact with centre managers.

At the outset of the pandemic, a contingency plan was prepared for each Centre, including provision of some onsite self-isolation at each centre, a plan for a response to an outbreak, enhanced cleaning regime required, etc. Building on these contingency plans, a Risk Assessment Framework for our centres has been developed with the HSE. This allows all centres to be assessed for risk and any additional supports or interventions required can then be appropriately targeted. This is important for the medium to longer term and takes account of the range of accommodation types across the Direct Provision system, from own-door accommodation to communal settings. A similar framework is applied by the Mental Health Commission for its residential settings. Assessments for all centres have been completed and follow-up work on the findings is underway.

The established procedure across all centres where a person is confirmed as having the virus, is that, where advised by Public Health, they are moved to a dedicated offsite self-isolation facility. Supports are available for the duration of their period of isolation until such time as the HSE considers that they can safely return to their centre. My Department has opened four dedicated self-isolation facilities for residents in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, and Dundalk, with a total capacity of 299 rooms. Residents in these facilities have their own bedroom and their own bathroom.

Since the start of the year over 1,550 permanent and temporary Direct Provision bed spaces have been procured, including the dedicated new centres opened in Rosslare Harbour, Cahersiveen and Tullamore.

We have relocated over 600 residents to support social and physical distancing in centres and cocooning measures for the most vulnerable. By doing this, we have ensured that no more than three single people are sharing a room in any of our centres. We intend to continue this policy when the crisis is over.

We have cocooned all residents aged 65 or older and those advised to my Department by the HSE as requiring cocooning on medical grounds.

In addition to the daily calls to centres, we are communicating directly with centre managers and residents via regular newsletters, which can also be found on our website www.accommodationcentres.ie. The newsletters have provided practical information on implementing social and physical distancing at this time and promoted shared learning and best practice across our network of centres. Residents have also been made aware of the need for good hand hygiene and coughing/sneezing etiquette. Information and posters have been distributed to all centres and translations of public health information have also been provided.

In partnership with the HSE and Safetynet, my Department has put in place a national clinical telephone service to provide public health advice to support centre staff. It is also being used to advise, support and work with locations where vulnerable groups are present relating to the implementation of COVID-19 guidelines and measures.

During this time, centre managers have also been advised to increase the standard and frequency of cleaning throughout the centres, paying particular attention to communal areas. A regular supply of hand sanitiser for centres is in place and this is distributed to centres as required. Other PPE is distributed, as needed, and in line with the HPSC guidelines for its appropriate use in residential settings.