Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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1323. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how much was expended, per month, since February 2022 on accommodation for people in receipt of temporary protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56476/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am advised my officials that the total expenditure by my Department on the provision of accommodation and related costs for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection since February 2022, as of 10 January 2024, is just under €1,996m which is on average approximately €100m per month.

These figures include direct food and board costs incurred by my Department in accommodating Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection, as well as other costs such as Local Authority emergency accommodation costs, the City West processing hub, transport, facilities management, IT and other expenditure.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland is currently accommodating more than 101,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection (IP) applicants. This includes almost 75,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 26,000 IP applicants currently in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

Intensive efforts are being undertaken daily by Department officials to source emergency accommodation. However, procuring enough bed space to keep pace with incoming arrivals remains extremely challenging.

As at 7 January 2024, the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) is operating 7 State owned accommodation centres across four counties, with capacity for 1,299 beds.

Please see in tabular format, the number of State owned centres in operation per county, along with capacity in each county.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Department has contracted the services of DePaul and the Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) to provide ‘Housing Support’ for those with Status or Permission to Remain to transition out of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

Prior to the publication of the Request for Tender (RFT) in 2022, IPAS engaged in a Service Level Arrangement (SLA) for ‘Housing Support’ services with DePaul and PMVT. Place Finder service is not the correct term as the RFT was for Housing Support for those with status in IPAS accommodation.

The RFT sought to assist Person(s) with Status in finding sustainable housing solutions, across four lots. A minimum of 32 staff were required to provide support services across 26 counties.

“The Contracting Authority requires that at minimum, the successful Tenderer will have a ‘Housing Support Team’ of at least (Lot 1: 10, Lot 2: 7, Lot 3:8, Lot 4:7) case workers plus one dedicated Accommodation Finder (a staff member dedicated to finding accommodation options, networking with estate agents and landlords), plus required administrative staff. The overarching aim of the Housing Support Team is to minimise the length of time spent in IPAS accommodation for those granted status and to support the household to access a sustainable housing solution as soon as possible.”

Please see as follows, in tabular format, the amounts paid to DePaul and PMVT between 2021-2023.