Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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398. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of hotel rooms which are currently being used to accommodate refugees from Ukraine and other jurisdictions by county in tabular form; the cost which has been incurred over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60362/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland is now accommodating over 64,900 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants. This includes over 47,420Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who have sought accommodation from the State and over 17,515 International Protection applicants currently in IPAS accommodation. This compares with 7,500 at the same time last year. The Department has sourced accommodation for the equivalent of the population of Waterford City in the last 6 months.

Over 650 contracts have been put in place for BOTP accommodation, with over 37,535 beds in hotels, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain emergency or repurposed settings. Just over5,700 people are in homes offered by the Irish public. Sporting facilities, army and tented facilities are also being used to provide shelter.

The Government is resolute in its solidarity and support for Ukraine, and huge efforts are being made to source facilities that will provide those arriving in Ireland with safety and shelter.

I can advise the Deputy that my Department is obliged to publish a list of formally signed off contracts each quarter that have been awarded under a special EU Derogation that permits the Department to enter into contracts in the context of the Ukraine accommodation crisis without going to formal tender. The values of these contracts are also listed.

The Deputy should note that these published values of the contracts are estimates; the actual value materialises upon occupancy and actual usage. Standard contracts have no-fault termination clauses available to both parties so again, the figures are indicative rather than actual.

The Q1, Q2 and Q3 reports can be found on the TED website:

Q1: ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:237209-2022:TEXT:EN:HTML

Q2: ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:424540-2022:TEXT:EN:HTML

Q3: ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:608491-2022:TEXT:EN:HTML&src=0

Attached is the requested breakdown by county of all rooms (as opposed to bed spaces) which my Department has contracted to provide accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

I am further advised by my officials that, to date, the total expenditure on Ukraine accommodation and related costs is €385 million.

I can confirm that as of 27 November 2022 there were 6,566 International Protection applicants accommodated in hotels – the number of rooms is not available as the information is not gathered on this basis due to different room configurations.

In respect of IP accommodation, a total of €165.7 million was spent on hotel accommodation between November 2021 and November 2022.

I trust this information is of assistance.