Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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437. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will address the reports of a death in Mosney direct provision centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22999/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am aware of the sad case to which the Deputy refers and I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of the deceased who I understand had been very unwell for some time and was receiving treatment for complex medical needs.

In keeping with relevant provisions in the International Protection Act 2015 safeguarding the identity of protection applicants, and, out of respect for the deceased's next of kin, I will not be commenting further on the specific details of this case.

I would however caution that great care and compassion should always be taken in reporting on such events, particularly on social media platforms, to avoid adding to the distress of family and friends of the deceased and afford them the necessary privacy to come to terms with their sad loss.

In the event of the death of a resident at a centre a critical incident policy is in place to provide guidelines for staff in the International Protection Accommodation Service of my Department (IPAS) and accommodation centre managers and staff. IPAS officials work closely with the centre manager to assist the person’s next of kin, if known, in accessing the supports provided by the State, and to offer supports to any residents affected by the death. Where children are involved, the family is linked with Tusla to provide relevant supports.

Under the Critical Incident Policy any death or very serious incident that occurs within accommodation centres provided by the Department is referred to the Gardaí as a matter of course and, where appropriate, the Gardaí will in turn refer those deaths to the local Coroner’s office. Where cause of death has not already been certified by a qualified medical practitioner, investigations and inquests into the cause of a death are matters for those authorities.

I can also advise that my Department has developed a new policy on the collation and provision of statistics on our accommodation centres. The draft policy is currently undergoing final clearance by senior officials within the Department and will cover any interactions with relevant state authorities who have a role in the recording of a death including the Garda Síochána, the Coroner’s Office and the General Registry Office. It will also cover the provision of statistics on known historical deaths of residents.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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438. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the finding in the Ombudsman for Children report Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision that the direct provision model does not have the best interests of children or the protection and promotion of the human rights of child refugees at its core; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23036/21]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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439. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the immediate steps he is taking to address the child safeguarding concerns raised in the Ombudsman for Children report Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23037/21]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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442. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the immediate steps he is taking to address the child safeguarding concerns raised in the Ombudsman for Children report Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23050/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 438, 439 and 442 together.

My Department welcomes the Report of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) “Safety and Welfare of Children in Direct Provision” and accepts its recommendations in full.

The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) of my Department has embarked upon a series of actions, planned for the short to medium term which will build upon existing work to ensure the recommendations of the OCO will be implemented as quickly as possible.

The key priority will be to move all remaining children and families still in residing in congregated hotel style living, to own door or independent living accommodation. In order to step away completely from the use of emergency accommodation alternative suitable locations must be found. As such, a new full public procurement will take place in 2021 with the aim of securing the additional spaces required to end the use of emergency accommodation by IPAS.

The procurement will have a specific focus on the provision of child friendly accommodation that will allow parents and children to enjoy a normal private family life.

As the Deputy may be aware a new Vulnerability Assessment process is currently being piloted by the IPAS. The pilot commenced in December 2020 and was extended to all new applicants for International Protection from the beginning of February. The purpose of these assessments is to determine if an applicant is deemed to have special reception needs, what those needs are and what actions are required to address those needs. Assessment questions are based on the various categories of vulnerability identified within the EU Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU, and have been refined within the Irish context with the help of the HSE.

A new Resident Welfare Team has been established within IPAS to case-manage individual families, and single residents, identified as having special reception needs and to ensure that those needs continue to be identified and addressed in the most appropriate way possible. The Resident Welfare Team will be a multi-disciplinary team with experts from the fields of education, health and childcare seconded.

IPAS is also committed to working with Tusla during 2021 to develop interagency protocols and operating procedures that will support the sharing of case information between Tusla and IPAS and to track and monitor referrals and cases from beginning to end.

All existing centres and all new centres are required to develop a child safeguarding statement. IPAS will work with Tusla to ensure compliance with child safeguarding statements and Children First legislation is audited this year. IPAS will be ensuring that child safeguarding statements are translated and made available to all residents. Additional child safety training will also be rolled out to all centre managers as COVID restrictions allow.

A new dedicated Customer Services Team has also been established in IPAS and, as well as strengthening the existing resident complaints system, this team will be taking a more proactive approach to dealing with residents' issues, actively engaging with residents through customer feedback mechanisms and focus groups in the months ahead.

The Deputy will also be aware that I published A White Paper to End Direct Provision and to establish a New International Protection Support Service on 26 February 2021. The new model has the human rights of children at its core. The new International Protection system will respect the rights of children and will provide child-friendly services, including a child-friendly vulnerability assessment. This was agreed with the OCO during the development of the White Paper.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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440. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the work of the International Protection Accommodation Service in establishing an independent inspectorate for direct provision as recommended in the Working Group to Report to Government on the Protection Process on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23048/21]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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446. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the statutory remit of HIQA under section 8(4) of the Health Act 2007 will be extended to allow it to carry out independent inspections in direct provision centres; if the envisaged role of HIQA will be advisory in nature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23205/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 440 and 446 together.

My Department is engaged in consultations with the Department of Health and HIQA aimed at establishing an independent monitoring mechanism for standards in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres. It has not yet been determined whether legislative change will be required to put this in place.

If required, any legislative amendment would fall to my colleague the Minister for Health to bring forward.

It is my hope that HIQA can commence rollout of its monitoring strategy in the coming months. A strong and transparent monitoring capacity is crucial to ensure that quality of service is maintained during the significant transformation process that will occur over the coming years.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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441. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason the International Protection Accommodation Service pre-Covid-19, failed to meet its own benchmark of three inspections per direct provision centre per year and did not inspect emergency accommodation centres in which children were residing at all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23049/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department aims to inspect all accommodation centres (including the National Reception Centre at Balseskin) three times each year, with two of the inspections being carried out by officials of the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) and the third being undertaken by an independent inspection company (QTS Limited). Regrettably, it has not always been possible to meet this target, due to capacity issues and, most recently, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 96 inspections were carried out in 2018, with 23 centres being inspected three times and 14 being inspected less than three times. 103 inspections were carried out in 2019, with 25 of the 39 centres that were open during the course of that year being inspected at least three times. With the exception of a new centre that opened in Dominick Street in Galway, which was not fully occupied until late 2020, all accommodation centres were inspected at least once in 2020; 24 were inspected twice; and twelve were inspected three times. This gives a total of 92 inspections carried out in 2020. In a written answer to Deputy Catherine Connolly on 21 January 2021, this figure was incorrectly given as 94.

While emergency accommodation is not subject to formal inspections, IPAS officials are in regular contact with residents through clinics, which are now conducted online. Residents can make use of the IPAS complaints mechanism and can also raise issues through the confidential telephone support service which the Jesuit Refugee Service provides on behalf of the Department. In addition, all residents can raise matters of concern with both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. Where issues are raised by or on behalf of residents, IPAS will address the matter with the accommodation provider and will visit the premises as required to ensure that any issues are satisfactorily resolved.