Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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482. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current position of plans to end direct provision and implement an alternative system that will effectively and humanely process both new applications of asylum and address the backlog of existing cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54112/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Earlier this year, I published A White Paper to End Direct Provision and to Establish a New International Protection Support Service. Since then my Department has taken a series of steps to implement these reforms. A staff team has been established in my Department to lead the transition to the new model and has developed a detailed implementation plan.

I have established a Programme Board chaired by my Department and with both Government and independent membership. This Board will provide detailed oversight and advice to the implementation team. I have also recently announced the membership of the three-person External Advisory Group to monitor and report independently on the progress of the reforms.

Working with the Housing Agency, my Department has begun to acquire the accommodation needed for Phase Two - that is, after people have completed their initial four months in a Reception and Integration Centre, and move into the community.

My Department has also begun to develop the integration policy for the new model, based on the principle of 'integration from day one' set out in the White Paper

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is fully committed to reducing processing times of both first instance decisions and appeals to 6 months respectively, as noted in the White Paper.

The International Protection Office in DOJ is examining and implementing measures with a view to speeding up processing times and reducing the overall number of applicants in the protection process. These measures include training more staff to conduct interviews and complete reports, while also streamlining processes to assist in expediting applications in the medium- to long-term. An end-to-end review of relevant international protection processes by a multi-disciplinary team from within DOJ has now been completed and published.

DOJ will, by October 2022 at the latest, commence a review of progress made in reducing and improving processing times. Based on the outcome of this review, DOJ will decide whether additional measures are required in order to ensure that the new system can come into operation without the overhang of any significant number of legacy cases.