Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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129. 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. [31458/23]

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, my Department has worked intensively as part of the cross-government humanitarian response to assist over 85,000 arrivals fleeing the war in Ukraine, including 63,000 that 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, my Department has contracted in excess of 49,000 beds to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) in more than 800 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.

I am advised by my officials that one payment was made to this provider today 27^thof June 2023. The second Invoice mentioned in the details supplied is currently being processed with payment expected to issue shortly subject to final checks.

Whilst there have been some delays in payment due to the very large volume of invoices received, progress has been made. Additional resources have been assigned within my Department and the volume of payments issuing is steadily growing. My Department will continue to press on to eliminate the backlog while ensuring appropriate governance is in place to safeguard the proper spending of Exchequer funding