Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As at 4th March 2024, 1,159 single adult males are awaiting an offer of accommodation. While demand continues to outstrip supply, particularly for single male adults, the Department is ensuring that all single adult women, families and children have been accommodated.

The Department is continuing to work intensively to source further accommodation and to follow up with those International Protection (IP) applicants awaiting an offer of accommodation, and since January 2022 has brought over 200 properties into use to accommodate those who arrive in Ireland seeking international protection. The Department publishes figures relating to IP applicants awaiting an offer of accommodation twice weekly, on the gov.ie website.

All IP applicants who present to the International Protection Office (IPO) during this period are assessed by IPAS and HSE staff for significant vulnerabilities and health issues, and prioritised for accommodation as necessary.

All arriving IP applicants who are not provided with accommodation are provided with a temporary increase of €75 to their Expense Allowance. This increases the allowance from the current rate of €38.80 per week to €113.80 a week for all eligible applicants.

Drop-in day services are provided to all non-accommodated persons who wish to avail of them. In such centres, IP applicants can access facilities including hot showers, meals and laundry services seven days a week. The Department has arrangements in place for the provision of these services with Mendicity, Capuchin Day Centre and Tiglin at the Lighthouse. The Department is in also in regular contact with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, the Dublin Simon Community, Streetlink Homeless Support Outreach service and others, particularly with regard identification of particularly vulnerable individuals.

As the IPO is located in Dublin, and this is where the vast majority of IP applicants are also located, services to address the current emergency are centred there.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Department is currently accommodating over 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection (IP) applicants. This includes over 75,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 27,000 IP applicants currently in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

In this context, there is a recognition that the underlying assumptions on which the White Paper was based on need to be re-examined, as the assumptions underpinning it are based on there being 3,500 new arrivals each year. A review of the timelines and deliverables was initiated. A memo will be going to government for approval setting out a revised implementation approach with an increased focus on adding State owned accommodation capacity.

The Department is in the early stages of planning its approach for the delivery of the increase state owned accommodation capacity. The Department is looking at new and innovated ways to address the shortfall in the current portfolio, and availing of repurposed office buildings, decommissioned Defence Forces barracks and tents to try to address shortfalls in reception capacity.

Following a call for government wide support to the accommodation crisis, departmental and state bodies have approached the Department to assist us in accommodating those seeking international protection. These offers are currently under appraisal.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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DCEDIY has utilised offers that have come through the Association of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI) for religious buildings such as seminaries and convents for International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

There are also a number of such buildings which are currently in use for the accommodation of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) and these types of buildings include former convents and former religious order schools.

The Department is currently accommodating over 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection (IP) applicants. This includes over 75,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 27,000 IP applicants currently in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

Department officials are working to bring more bed spaces into use. The Department is presently utilising a wide range of accommodation options to provide shelter to record numbers of International Protection (IP) applicants, with over 200 accommodation locations utilised since January 2022 across 26 counties.