Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

262. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of home pledges that were received for Ukrainian refugees by county; the current number of pledges (details supplied); the number of refugees who have been housed through a refugee process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45269/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on 24 February, and the invoking of the temporary protection Directive by the European Union shortly afterwards, My Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-governmental response to the Ukraine crisis.

The operational challenges brought about by responding to the conflict are significant. Our country has never experienced an influx of displaced persons like the one that we have seen over the past months.

The Department is focused on the immediate, short-term accommodation needs of those who have fled here. To date, more than 48,000 people have arrived in Ireland and in excess of 37,000 of those have been referred to us seeking accommodation from the State.

Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging.

The Government is committed to delivering a humanitarian response to welcome people seeking protection in Ireland as part of the European Union's overall response. The scale of response to this crisis has been unprecedented and Irish people have displayed an incredible level of generosity in their support and pledges of accommodation.

I can advise the Deputy that the attached Table(s) provides the most recent position on pledged accommodation as communicated to us by implementing partners. This data is subject to change on a daily basis. The Department in collaboration with Implementing Partners and Local Authorities continues to promote pledged accommodation uptake and the numbers continue to increase on a weekly basis. This data does not include those pledges which have remained uncontactable or where pledges have been investigated and are unsuitable for various reasons. Feedback from implementing partners continues to be received and will be updated.

Key Abbreviations in Table:

IRC- Irish Red Cross

IOM- International Organisation for Migration

PMVT- Peter McVerry Trust

MWS- Mid-West Simon