Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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292. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will liaise directly with a person in respect of an inspection (details supplied). [30414/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I would like to assure the Deputy that the health and wellbeing of all Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) who avail of accommodation provided by my Department is of the highest priority to me and to my officials.

As part of our contractual arrangements with providers of accommodation for BOTPs, we set out a number of requirements which providers must meet in terms of service provision, including delivery of key services, laundry, meals (including cultural/dietary requirements) in serviced accommodation, and cooking facilities in self-catering accommodation, and compliance with all obligations in terms of health and safety, child protection etc.

My Department treats all complaints about accommodation with the utmost seriousness and is committed to reviewing and acting on all complaints in a timely and efficient manner.

If a complaint requires an inspection, my Department will arrange for an independent inspection to be conducted. If an inspection identifies any issues, the Department will instruct the service provider to address any issues identified. If issues of concern are not addressed, the Department has the authority to relocate people and terminate the contract.

My Department is presently examining the matters to which she refers.