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

My Department is now accommodating in excess of 70,000 people, including both those fleeing the war in Ukraine and those seeking International Protection. We have contracted in excess of 42,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 700 settings including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings.

The Government decision of 28 October 2022 agreed that a move from an emergency response to a more mainstreamed approach is appropriate in light of the high numbers of arrivals, both those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine and those seeking asylum. The high level of demand requires us to maximise all existing capacity, to bring greater consistency and to ensure equity for all who rely on State supports. This includes taking account of the level of income supports being provided by the State in addition to accommodation and access to a range of State services. The decision involved moving to a more standard offer of accommodation, with Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection utilising existing state income supports or income from employment to pay for their own food and day-to-day expenses.

To give effect to the Government decision, my Department is in ongoing negotiations, as contracts expire, with a significant number of hotels who have previously been accommodating Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPS) on a full board basis. At this time no provider has definitively indicated that they will not provide accommodation for BOTPs under the new contract, but negotiations are still ongoing.

We are also working urgently across Government and with agencies, NGOs and Local Authorities to bring new accommodation on board so that the State’s humanitarian responsibilities can continue to be met. In this regard, my Department is availing of all suitable offers of accommodation made to it, including the use of hotels, office buildings, and sports centres, to address the accommodation shortfall.

In respect of the above Government decision, it should be noted that regular meetings have taken place between my officials and the relevant Department and Fáilte Ireland officials to share learnings and discuss issues as we continue to respond to the challenge of procuring enough accommodation to meet demand. My Department is grateful to the support of those in this sector in responding to date to this unprecedented challenge. Communities across the country have welcomed those from Ukraine during their time of need and this is very appreciated.

My Department is also very aware of the concerns shared by some communities around the absence of tourists in some areas with the consequent impact on local spending. To respond to these and other issues, we continue to work alongside both Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Tourism as we work together as part of a whole of government response, ensuring that key stakeholders have had the opportunity to feed into solutions under development.

I also wish to advise that, as part of the whole of Government response to the increased arrivals, the State is also committed to delivering accommodation solutions beyond tourist accommodation. For example my Department is working with the Department of Housing to deliver accommodation in certain refurbished buildings. The Department of Housing has also recently announced a new call for unoccupied homes to be made available for BOTPs, and we are working with OPW on the rapid build homes programme. This work will continue.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

423. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on accommodation pledged (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2750/23]

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

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 a commendable level of generosity in their support and pledges of accommodation.

To date, in excess of 6,300 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) have been housed in over 2,600 pledged accommodation settings.

The matching of Beneficiaries to prospective pledge properties is a matter for the relevant Local Authority and Implementing partner(s). I understand that every effort is being made to match Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection to pledged accommodation that is suitable for their needs. It is not always possible to accommodate specific requests made by hosts regarding the family composition they would like to assist.

Local Authorities and NGO implementing partners match beneficiaries to suitable pledged accommodation considering all factors that need to be taken into account. These factors often include access to school placements, transportation links and specific needs that are unique to each BOTP family unit.

I advise that any queries relating to pledge accommodation be directed to the appropriate Local Authority who is overseeing the process.

I wish to thank all members of the Irish Public who have very generously offered their accommodation to assist those fleeing the war in Ukraine and assure them that all efforts are being made to accommodate BOTPs.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

424. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when overdue payments (details supplied) will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2751/23]

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

My Department has engaged over 700 properties to provide accommodation for Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection. In line with my Department’s commitment to substantially clear the backlog at the end of 2022, I temporarily re-assigned staff from other areas of the Department to the payments team in December, doubling the size of the payments unit. The enlarged team approved more than 100 million euros worth of payments. My Department is prioritising maintaining a practice of more timely payments, including providing more resources to address any issues. We regret any delays in making payments and are according this issue very high priority.

With regard to the two invoices in the details supplied, both are in hand for payment and are expected to issue in the coming week, once they have passed final checks.