Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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573. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent to which his Department is competing with other Government agencies for private sector accommodation, including homeless emergency accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51897/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Deputy, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) regularly engages with the Local Authorities with respect to accommodation matters.

As you may be aware, the accommodation situation in Ireland at present is proving very challenging. From the beginning of 2022 to date, over 11,300 people have arrived in Ireland seeking protection. As of 12th of October, there are 15,983 people accommodated in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation and of that total 3,396 are children.

These figures are in addition to the arrival of over 53,000 Ukrainian Nationals of whom over 42,000 are seeking accommodation assistance from DCEDIY as a result of the war in Ukraine. It's important to note that at this point in 2021, there were roughly 7,500 people in IPAS accommodation.

The pressure on the State to accommodate over 57,000 people currently has led to significant shortages particularly for the international protection cohort.

The manner in which accommodation is sought by this Department is as follows:

In the medium term, the request for tender (RFT), published on 18 January 2022, seeks to procure additional accommodation for singles, couples and families seeking international protection. The RFT encourages tenders from not-for-profit organisations in the delivery of related services. The 2022 tender process for International Protection Accommodation Service accommodation that provides for more own-door accommodation for protection applicants has begun to deliver some capacity recently. 10 new identified contracts/properties that, subject to contract, are expected to result in additional bed spaces. The tender was re-advertised on 6 October with a response deadline of 8 November and hopes to bring more capacity into the fold.

Emergency accommodation offers are pursued as they arise. Expressions of interest through newspaper advertisements are also utilised to generate addition offers of capacity and at times the Department has 'cold called' accommodation providers to source accommodation.

The Department tries to ensure a co-operative approach to accommodation sourcing with Local Authorities rather than a competitive one.

The Department is in ongoing contact with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Local Authorities to ensure that there is no encroachment on Local Authority sourced homeless accommodation. It does not procure individual houses, except where they can accommodate 15 people or more, or apartments for that reason.

With respect to the Ukraine crisis response, the Department shares information weekly with the Local Authorities on accommodation due to commence for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) and advises also on IPAS accommodation as it becomes available through briefing of local elected representatives and briefing documents.