Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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140. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a payment for accommodation will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56778/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I can advise the Deputy that my officials are contacting the person named in the Details Supplied to ensure that payment for accommodation of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection in their guesthouse is processed as quickly as possible.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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141. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide details of the number of Ukrainian refugees that have come to Ireland by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56786/22]

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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142. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of Ukrainian refugees in the Killarney area; the breakdown of the number for other towns in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56787/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive immediately afterwards, approximately 60,000 people from Ukraine have sought refuge here in Ireland, with about three quarters of those being provided with accommodation from the State. The scale of the response to this crisis has been unprecedented and Irish people have displayed a commendable level of generosity in their support, in their welcome for beneficiaries into their communities, and in pledges of accommodation.

Below is a table extracted from our records showing Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection accommodated by my Department in Kerry, within our remit to provide suitable temporary accommodation. Although not all providers have completed the "town" field, where a town is stated this has been entered.

The table below relates only to those accommodated by my Department and does not include all Ukrainian refugees. For further information I can refer the Deputy to the website of the Central Statistics Office where further information and regional breakdowns are available.

www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/p-aui/arrivalsfromukraineinirelandseries7/

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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143. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of asylum seekers currently in Killarney; the status of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56788/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Deputy, as of 6 November, there are 589 persons availing of International Protection Accommodation Service provided accommodation in Killarney. Of this total, 81 have permission to remain status and 508 are international protection applicants who are currently awaiting their applications to be assessed by the International Protection Office.

The pressure on the State to accommodate almost 63,000 people currently -  47,000 of whom are Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection - has led to significant shortages particularly for the international protection cohort.

Under the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (SI 230 of 2018), the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is legally required to provide accommodation to international protection applicants who seek it while their claim for international protection is being determined by the Department of Justice.

The accommodation of international protection applicants (IPA) is a demand-led process with applicants arriving in the country and seeking accommodation spontaneously.

All of the limited accommodation capacity within the IPAS system is currently being used. As the Department has not been able to meet the capacity needs from the first advertisement of the 2022 tender process, officials continue to engage in emergency accommodation procurement to address the shortfall in capacity. 

Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been circa 40 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 13 counties. DCEDIY is working urgently across Government and with agencies, NGOs and local authorities to bring new accommodation on board to meet State’s humanitarian responsibilities. In addition, IPPS is sourcing vacant office buildings and state owned properties in order to increase available accommodation. A number of these projects are currently being progressed. These options are necessary in order to provide shelter to international protection arrivals, to meet basic needs and to prevent homelessness.

A republished tender for IPAS to provide more own-door accommodation closed on 8 November. The International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) is beginning site visits to potential locations to evaluate these options shortly. It is expected that successful tenderers from this republication will be added to accommodation provider panels in Quarter 1 of 2023.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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144. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers in the country by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56789/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As of 6 November 2022, there are 16,908 people accommodated in the IPAS accommodation system as a whole. A breakdown of this number by county is set out below.

It is important to note that at this point in 2021 there were approximately 7,250 persons in IPAS accommodation. 

The pressure on the State to accommodate almost 63,000 people currently -  47,000 of whom are Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection - has led to significant shortages particularly for the international protection cohort.

Under the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (SI 230 of 2018), the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is legally required to provide accommodation to international protection applicants who seek it while their claim for international protection is being determined by the Department of Justice.

The accommodation of international protection applicants (IPA) is a demand-led process with applicants arriving in the country and seeking accommodation spontaneously.

All of the limited accommodation capacity within the IPAS system is currently being used. As the Department has not been able to meet the capacity needs from the first advertisement of the 2022 tender process, officials continue to engage in emergency accommodation procurement to address the shortfall in capacity. 

Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been circa 40 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 13 counties. DCEDIY is working urgently across Government and with agencies, NGOs and local authorities to bring new accommodation on board to meet State’s humanitarian responsibilities. In addition, IPPS is sourcing vacant office buildings and state owned properties in order to increase available accommodation. A number of these projects are currently being progressed. These options are necessary in order to provide shelter to international protection arrivals, to meet basic needs and to prevent homelessness.

A republished tender for IPAS to provide more own-door accommodation closed on 8 November. The International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) is beginning site visits to potential locations to evaluate these options shortly. It is expected that successful tenderers from this republication will be added to accommodation provider panels in Quarter 1 of 2023.