Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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404. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how he and his Government colleagues intend to deal with the very serious economic impact of removing a location (details supplied) from the tourism sector in Drogheda, as identified in a report that was published showing a projected €22 million loss to the local economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23761/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Ireland and many other European countries are experiencing a significant increase in people seeking international protection (IP). The arrival numbers remain significantly elevated. In the first 20 weeks of 2024, nearly 8,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking accommodation from the State, averaging 398 people per week. This is more than five times the average from 2017-2019.

The State has a legal obligation to assess the claims of those who seek International Protection (IP), and in that time, to provide accommodation and supports in line with the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (transposed under SI 230 of 2018, or the "Reception Conditions Regulations"), to those that require it.

Currently, there are over 30,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole compared with approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022.

The D Hotel has been offered to the International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) and contracted to provide accommodation to International Protection (IP) applicants under the emergency appraisal process. It is functioning as a dispersal centre for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) with families in residence for a short period of time before transfer to an alternative centre.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media (DTCAGSM) has informed me that Fáilte Ireland’s statutory register of all Short-Term Tourist Letting accommodation in the State will, when implemented, provide a full picture of the stock of tourist accommodation. This will better inform and enhance Fáilte Ireland’s ability to promote wider tourism investment. The combined insights of the accommodation audits and the Register will help shape and inform Ireland’s long-term accommodation development plans to meet changing consumer demands and trends.

With regard to the specific tourism accommodation stock challenge for the tourism sector in Drogheda, tourism is a recognised critical element for social and economic development in the town. Drogheda is a key part of the Ancient Destination Experience Development Plan, that is the Fáilte Ireland roadmap for development of tourism in regions such as the Boyne Valley and environs.

In this context, Government welcomes the collaboration between Fáilte Ireland and Louth County Council on the potential development of an attraction of scale focused on the Boyne, as the development of such attractions is a key element underpinning a strong regional distribution of tourism across the country.

The role of Drogheda, as a key entry point to the tourism and heritage attractions of the Boyne Valley, is recognised by the significant funding which Fáilte Ireland has allocated to the town under its Urban Animation Scheme in order to bring landmark buildings and structures in Drogheda’s historic landscape to life. While the challenges experienced by Drogheda due to displacement of tourism accommodation are not unique to the town, they serve as an exemplar of similar challenges across the country that must be addressed, on the basis of sustained and strategic inter-agency collaboration.