Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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212. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of persons from Ukraine who have come to Ireland since the beginning of the Russian attack who have been provided with housing in private residential properties by the Government and an organisation (details supplied) since the beginning of the war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47742/22]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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213. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of persons who have agreed to provide residential accommodation to Ukrainian refugees through an organisation (details supplied) since the beginning of the war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47743/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 212 and 213 together.

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.

My Department’s role is focused on the immediate, short-term accommodation needs of those who have fled here. To date, more than 49,000 people have arrived in Ireland and in excess of 38,000 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. Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, a broad range of accommodation types have been contracted, including emergency accommodation.

The priority is to place people fleeing the conflict in safe and secure accommodation.

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.

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) has put in place a national pledge as the mechanism for channelling the offers of accommodation which many members of the public wish to provide. The website through which offers of accommodation are pledged is registerofpledges.redcross.ie. Implementing partners include Local Authorities, IRC, International Organisation of Migration (IOM) and Peter McVerry Trust.

To date, 4,339 beneficiaries have moved to 1,585 properties and this figure increases on a weekly basis.

Placement of people in need into pledged properties also occurs outside the pledged process.

The process of placing people in pledged accommodation does take time, but it is a complex process and needs to be done correctly for the safety and security of those fleeing.

My Department is working to advance this process to the greatest extent possible.