Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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427. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the Government has considered housing asylum seekers or Ukrainian refugees in Áras an Uachtaráin or on its grounds; and if such a decision would ultimately be a matter for the Government or for the President.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6743/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department is now accommodating in excess of 74,000 people, including both those fleeing the war in Ukraine and those seeking International Protection. We have contracted in excess of 43,500 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 700 settings nationwide including in hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings.

As part of process improvement my Department introduced a new accommodation offer management process on 23 January. The purpose of the new portal is to streamline the processing of valid offers of accommodation and deliver efficiencies in advancing such offers.

All offers of qualifying commercial accommodation must now only be made by completing this updated form. Please submit any offer using this process. Offers will no longer be accepted through any other channel. Further information on the updated offer management process can be found here .

The new form is part of the whole of Government humanitarian accommodation response and the Department's ongoing commitment to process improvement to respond to the unprecedented humanitarian emergency in Ukraine. If one has a query as to whether or not they have a valid commercial offer of accommodation for my Department to consider, please refer to these offer submission guidelines .

The offer submission guidelines provide clear information on the following:

1. The offer categories which the Department will accept for review

2. The essential criteria a valid offer must meet

3. Signposted information on other accommodation offer channels to explore elsewhere across government (vacant homes, pledged properties, refurbished properties), where an offer does not fall within DCEDIY’s accommodation categories’ scope.

Please note, as BOTPs continue to arrive daily, my Department are currently prioritising larger capacity offers and those with upcoming availability. While every effort is made to review offers as quickly as possible, the levels of current engagement mean that it may take between 3 and 5 days for a response to issue.

It should be noted that all offers are considered by my Department subject to being offered through the above channel.

As for the matter raised, such a decision would be a matter for the President and the OPW.

My Department and its staff will continue in their efforts to assist those arriving as best they can throughout 2023, working with colleagues across Government, agencies and those in communities on a coordinated response.