Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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536. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection that have been issued with a notice of eviction by the Ukraine crisis temporary accommodation team due to a violation of the absence protocol since its introduction in October 2023. [41034/24]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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537. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of persons who have obtained extraordinary absence permission since the absence protocol’s introduction; and the number of requests for extraordinary absence permission since October 2023. [41035/24]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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538. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the absence protocol for beneficiaries of temporary protection for those residing in State-contracted accommodation will be permitted to leave over the Christmas period. [41036/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 537 and 538 together.

My Department provides Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) with temporary emergency accommodation upon their request on their arrival in Ireland. This supports BOTPs to make longer term independent arrangements if they decide to remain in Ireland. As this is a temporary support, there is an onus on my Department to ensure that there are policies in place to ensure proper governance.

When a BOTP accepts an emergency accommodation bed they agree to abide by all policies in place by my Department. This includes the Absence Protocol.

In addition to the standard provisions of the Absence Protocol, on an annual basis I have authorised a special Christmas leave period. The precise dates of this year’s Christmas leave are under review and will be published in the near future.

My Department does not collate the information in the manner requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of persons who have obtained extraordinary absence permission since the absence protocol’s introduction and the number of requests for extraordinary absence permission since October 2023. My Department also does not collate the information in the manner requested in relation to the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection that have been issued with no further offers letter due to a violation of the absence protocol since its introduction in October 2023.

The current iteration of this policy came into effect in October 2023. It provides only limited circumstances whereby the State will pay for empty beds in emergency accommodation when the occupants are absent, namely medical and compassionate reasons. When an application is being made on medical grounds, this is only permitted for seeking specialist care (e.g. surgery or cancer treatment etc.) and must be accompanied with the appropriate supporting documentation.

I must stress that this does not prevent anyone from leaving their emergency accommodation. Anyone who is currently living in our emergency accommodation may choose to relinquish their current accommodation at any time to travel without restriction. When they return to Ireland, they may be given a new offer of emergency accommodation, subject to availability, but this may not be the same accommodation centre they were in previously.

When a BOTP is absent from their accommodation without sanction this is deemed a refusal of their emergency accommodation. However, we acknowledge that with the fluid situation in Ukraine that it may be necessary for people to travel in an emergency without being able to notify my officials in advance, particularly when the health and welfare of loved ones is at stake. To this end the protocol allows for people to make a retroactive application for their absence after they have travelled.

All applications are dealt with on a case-by-case basis with my officials taking into account the context of requests against the provisions of the protocol. In all cases where an absence is found not to be in line with the protocol, my officials provide information on how the applicant may relinquish their accommodation to facilitate their future travel.

These measures ensure that beds are available for those who need them, and that the accommodation portfolio of my Department provides value for money to the taxpayer.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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539. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on the consolidation of accommodation portfolio for beneficiaries of temporary protection; if he will supply anonymised data for contracts terminated in each month of 2024, by county, in tabular form; the number of beds, and cost per bed per night for each contract terminated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41037/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, my Department continues to work as part of the whole-of-Government response with a focus on providing access to emergency temporary accommodation to those fleeing the conflict who request it, in line with Government policy. This supports them to make longer term independent arrangements if they decide to remain in Ireland for the duration of the Temporary Protection Directive.

My Department aims to ensure that our portfolio of accommodation meets the evolving needs of the State’s response to the Ukraine Crisis.

In recent months we have seen decreases in arrivals from Ukraine to Ireland, decreases in those arriving who request accommodation from the State and greater numbers of Ukrainians who choose to move on from State accommodation.

As a result, my Department is currently seeking to consolidate and rationalise its BOTP accommodation portfolio to ensure greater compliance with standards and better value for money.

My Department has decided to prioritise ending contracts with non-compliant providers as part of this consolidation. While I cannot go into detail on specific compliance cases, compliance issues include but are not limited to:

• The health, safety and wellbeing of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection in state-supported emergency accommodation.
• Overcharging by providers for the provision of their accommodation.
• Unregulated secondary properties that were being utilised by providers.
• Private and residential properties that were being utilised and retained by the Department when further commercial properties were available.