Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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529. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on his Department's implementation of the measures specific to it contained within the White Paper on ending direct provision. [4312/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As the Deputy will be aware the Government made a commitment in the Programme for Government to end the current system of accommodation for International Protection applicants and replace it with a new model that is based on a not for profit approach. As part of this process, I published A White Paper to end Direct Provision and to Establish a new International Protection Support Service on 26th February 2021. This paper sets out a new approach for accommodating applicants that seek International Protection in Ireland and will replace the current system.

Since publishing, the White Paper my Department has placed a significant focus on delivering these reforms. Progress made includes:

- The recruitment of a team dedicated to driving the implementation of the new programme;

- The establishment of Governance structures to oversee transition to the new model in the form of a Programme Board and an External Advisory Committee. The Board has met regularly over the past 18 months to review progress. The board are due to meet again on 2^ndFeb 2023 to review project timelines and the work of the sub-committee. The EAG meet with the Department regularly and are also due to meet again on 2^ndFeb 2023 ;

- The development of the community accommodation model including the acquisition of a number of properties. The process of appointing Approved Housing Bodies to manage these properties is near completion ;

- The development of an integration programme to support the principle of ‘integration from day one’ as set out in the White Paper.

- The advancement of our Communication Strategy which includes a dedicated webpage where all members of the public can find updates on the progress being made;

- The initiation of a planning process for Phase One Reception and Integration Centres.

- The roll out of an integration fund, offering grants to civil society organisations for projects supporting the integration of International Protection Applicants. I am very pleased to say that over €1.6m in funding has being awarded to 67 organisations through this new International Protection Integration Fund.

As will be appreciated, the war in Ukraine had an unavoidable impact on timelines for the implementation of the White Paper. Alongside this, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people seeking international protection with almost 20,000 applicants currently in IPAS accommodation. My Department is currently accommodating over 75,000 people overall, compared with 8,000 at this time last year.

In this vastly changed context, an overall review of the projected timelines and deliverables in the White Paper is currently underway. This is a complex exercise that will take account of both the delays that have arisen as a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the substantial increase in numbers seeking International Protection.

The review is reassessing the projections underpinning the White Paper with respect to numbers of arrivals and how this impacts on key deliverables. The review will also consider whether it is preferable to prioritise the implementation of certain aspects of the White Paper reforms over others. The objective of such an approach would be to progress with key reforms that are achievable in the current altered context and build much needed accommodation capacity in the system. This could enable progress on a meaningful reform programme that adheres to the key principles of the White Paper.

The review will also focus on identifying new approaches that will help the system to manage with the uncertainty and its demand led nature and address future needs.

An initial paper with some options and recommendations has been brought to the White Paper Programme Board for their input and feedback. Once the overall review is completed, a new set of proposals will be drafted and submitted to Government for their approval.

The implementation of the new model is and will continue to be a key priority for my Department.