Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is the lead Department for the provision and allocation of accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BoTP). The role of my Department in this area is a supporting role as part of the broader, whole of Government response.

My Department is supporting the whole of Government effort on Ukraine across 3 accommodation strands;

1. Emergency Refurbishment (Ukraine) Project ;

2. “Offer a Home” call; and

3. Supporting the Identification of Sites for Rapid Build Homes.

My Department was tasked with supporting the refurbishment programme given links with local authorities, the availability of an existing building advisory team in my Department, and in particular, the sustained pressure on DCEDIY to deliver a large volume of accommodation for significant numbers of Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection.

My Department has also supported the co-ordination of the local response to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis by requesting each local authority to identify a lead Director of Service or equivalent level who could be dedicated to coordinating the local response on a full-time basis supported by a temporary support team as required. These dedicated resources which have to date been funded by my Department work as part of the Community Response Forum and also lead the co-ordination of the provision of supports and services to Ukrainians at a local level by the range of public and not-profit bodies involved.

Recoupments to local authorities for staffing costs associated with the Community Response Forums in 2022 and 2023 are detailed in the table below: