Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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98. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he is satisfied that in cases in which proposals are presented by individuals, organisations or commercial entities to provide accommodation to IPAS, that applications are expediated in a timely way. [5971/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Deputy, the response to the ongoing migration crisis has entered an extremely difficult phase, with no apparent accommodation for international protection applicants (IPAs) at scale available into the short term to medium term.

I can assure you that every effort is being made to address the current shortfall in accommodation. Since 1 December 2022 to 30 January 2023 over 1,700 additional spaces have been brought into use by IPAS for international protection applicants.

The arrival numbers are at an all time high with 15,000 people arriving in 2022. In the first month of 2023, more than 1,200 new IPA arrivals have sought accommodation from the State. The average annual number of applications from 2017 to 2019 was 3,500.

Since the beginning of 2022, Ireland and many other European countries are experiencing a significant increase of new arrivals seeking international protection (IP). All of the limited accommodation capacity within the IPAS system is currently being used.

Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been circa 60 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 17 counties.

The Department has a dedicated procurement team who engage in detailed assessments of all buildings offered for IPA accommodation. Intensive efforts are being undertaken daily by staff in DCEDIY to source emergency accommodation. However, procuring enough bed space to keep pace with incoming arrivals remains extremely challenging, leading to very significant shortages.

The Department continues to evaluate all offers or accommodation made to it as quickly as possible and welcomes offers from providers who will accommodate international protection applicants (IPAs). At present all offers of accommodation for IPAs are being advanced. As you may be aware, the volume of applications from providers to accommodate IPAs is far less numerous than the offers proffered for beneficiaries of temporary protection. As a consequence, there is no backlog of offers for international protection accommodation that have not been examined.