Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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256. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his Department is planning to open accommodation for asylum seekers in Letterkenny, County Donegal; the number of asylum seekers the centre will accommodate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40887/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I can confirm that as a result of a nationwide tendering process for accommodation for international protection applicants, my Department will open a new accommodation centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal in late January 2021.

The accommodation centre will initially become home for families who have been identified to move from existing emergency accommodation centres to the new centre. The accommodation consists of 60 apartments of 2 and 3 bedroom self-contained units, enabling residents to have own door accommodation. It will provide accommodation for up to 60 families, who will arrive on a phased basis and will facilitate independent living for the families.

it is expected that the allocation of families to the centre will not be finalised until mid-January. Therefore it is not possible to say at this juncture how many people will be accommodated at the centre when all units are allocated. The overall number of people at any centre accommodating families is determined by the makeup of each family and this naturally varies over the lifetime of any such centre.

The accommodation is in line with the National Standards for Accommodation Centres adopted in 2019 and which will come into effect in January 2021.