Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

418. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he is taking to take up existing offers of accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers, to take pressure off the current system and ensure that new arrivals are not forced into rough sleeping; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6426/23]

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

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.

The Department has made every possible effort to secure accommodation and has sought support from the widest possible range of organisations to provide accommodation to IPAs. Where request for tender processes have not delivered the required capacity, the Department has engaged in emergency accommodation sourcing through networks with other State accommodation providers such as the local authorities, through newspaper advertisements, through cold calling and the use of online booking engines.

The Department has utilised offers that have come through the Association of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI) for religious buildings such as seminaries and convents for IPAS accommodation.

The Department has reached out to other Government Departments such as the Department of Education for school and third level institution facilities; the Department of Defence for unused barracks and buildings; the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media for sporting and arts facilities; the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Office of Public Works for buildings that can be used to accommodate people.

Many of the offers that have come through these requests have resulted in accommodation, both temporary and longer term.

In 2022, the Department has utilised all manner of buildings offered to it including office buildings and sports facilities such as Pairc Ui Chaoimh and the National Indoor Arena, Abbotstown

The Department continues to evaluate all offers of accommodation made to it as quickly as possible and welcomes offers from providers who will accommodate international protection applicants.

Last week, I wrote to Ministerial colleagues seeking their assistance in sourcing buildings to facilitate emergency rest centre operations to address the increase in arrivals.

Presently, there are almost 20,000 international protection applicants being accommodated by my Department compared with 7,500 at this time last year.