Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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590. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on payments due to a service provider (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25676/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department is prioritising making more timely payments of valid invoices, including providing more resources to address any issues, and outsourcing of elements of the process to speed up processing and to respond to supplier calls.

With regard to the service provider referred to, I am advised by my officials that one of the invoices mentioned in the Details Supplied has been paid and a further three have been processed, with payment expected to issue in the coming fortnight subject to final checks. With regard to the remaining invoices mentioned, my officials will be engaging with the provider in the coming days to supply the details required for a valid invoice, in order to facilitate processing and payment.

My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the payments backlog while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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591. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when a service provider (details supplied) will receive payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25683/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My Department is prioritising making more timely payments of valid invoices, including providing more resources to address any issues, and outsourcing of elements of the process to speed up processing and to respond to supplier calls.

With regard to the service provider referred to, I am advised by my officials that the documents referred to in the Details Supplied are in process, with payment expected in the coming weeks once final checks are completed.

My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the payments backlog while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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592. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he can assist a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25704/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland has responded to the largest displacement of people on the European continent since the Second World War. Since February 2022, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has worked extensively to accommodate over 83,000 arrivals fleeing the war in Ukraine, of which 61,000 have sought accommodation from this Department.

Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging. Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, the Department has contracted in excess of 47,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 770 settings including hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, commercial self-catering accommodation and certain other repurposed settings.

The priority is to place people fleeing the war in safe and secure accommodation.

The Department does not comment on individual cases. I am advised that officials have replied to the individual referred to, on foot of related correspondence.