Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Each accommodation provider who has a contract with my Department to provide accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) is required to notify my officials of any vacancies at the accommodation on a weekly basis. The accommodation provider to which the Deputy refers is contracted with the Department and has notified my officials of vacancies at this accommodation in the correct way by sending a weekly register via email to a designated mailbox.

Maximising the use of contracted vacancies is a priority for my Department. A dedicated team was established in Q2 of this year to actively validate vacancies notified to us by accommodation providers to ensure these are within contracted capacity and meet our standards. In addition, improvements to our processes have significantly increased accommodation provider compliance with the requirement to submit weekly registers, currently over 90%, and my officials are actively contacting those outstanding providers not currently doing so to ensure we have a full picture of contracted vacancies.

There are a number of circumstances, however, under which in-contract vacancies cannot be used in the short term and must be paused. Where a provider is nearing the end of their contract, for example, or where an issue has been raised with my Department such that the provider’s offering is under review, vacancies notified by that accommodation provider will not be filled until these matters are resolved to ensure the safety and security of BOTPs.

Vacancies which are suitable for immediate use are made available by my officials to operational teams at Citywest and in our Relocations team for allocation. Due to varying room configurations and geographical location, some vacancies may take longer to fill then others given they are utilised to meet the specific requirements of individuals and family groups of BOTPs.

Accommodation providers can be assured that if they have notified my Department of their vacancies through the correct channel, my officials are aware of them and are actively working on them. My Department will continue to engage with providers to fill suitable vacancies where this is possible.