Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you for your question, Deputy.

Over the last eleven months this Department has been focused on progressing the Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS), which was announced in March 2024, with the prioritisation of particular elements of its multi-strand approach.

The goal is to develop a sustainable international protection accommodation system and enable the State to meet its legal and humanitarian

commitments. Accommodation is being sourced and developed through a range of teams, through a multi-strand approach:

• Targeted purchase of medium and larger turnkey properties
• Use of State land for prefabricated and modular units
• Conversion of commercial buildings
• Design and build of new Reception and Integration Centres
• Upgrading of existing IPAS centres
• Supplemented by commercial providers, but phasing these out as more State services come onstream

The first project under this programme was the delivery of 40 modular units (320 beds) to replace tents on the Columb Barracks site.

A contract to develop the site was awarded at the end of May 2024 and the 320 beds were handed over on the 20 December 2024. This represents a timeframe of just over six months from awarding of contract to full delivery, which represents a heretofore unseen speed of progress.

In addition to this, while tented accommodation was used for a period in 2024 at Crooksling, the indoor accommodation at this former HSE-run site is currently being adapted and renovated to provide approximately 200 beds in this facility.

In terms of purchases, an Expression of Interest (EOI) process was launched on the 30 April 2024 for the sourcing of suitable properties for acquisition or lease. 93 submissions have been received to date. A team of technical experts has been mobilised to assess the viability of submissions received and prioritise properties that could be available in the short-term.

In addition, work is ongoing to identify supply channels for commercial conversions, including empty office buildings, assessment of state-owned properties for suitability for refurbishment, and engagement on the acquisition of large-scale properties that have come to the Department through direct sourcing.

In addition to potential purchases, my Department is also progressing the other parallel strands in the strategy. The delivery of prefabricated and modular units on state lands has been prioritised by the Department as a vehicle that can quickly deliver accommodation at national standards.

Extensive engagement has taken place to identify and negotiate the use of State- owned sites for initially emergency tented accommodation and modular accommodation, and lands have been made available to the Department at:

• Crooksling in Dublin
• Thornton Hall in Dublin
• Athlone, Co. Westmeath
• River Lodge in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow
• Former Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, Dublin.
• Columb Barracks, Co. Westmeath (predating the CAS).

At the start of 2024 just over 900 residents lived in State-owned centres, whose capacity was relatively unchanged in the last 20 years. In 2024 nearly 500 new State-owned spaces have been added, a 55% increase.

Building on these achievements and ongoing expansion of the number of state- owned facilities, a procurement process to form a framework for the delivery of modular or prefabricated units on other state lands has been launched. Alongside this, other sites are at different stages of providing or being assessed for their suitability or viability for modular/prefabricated accommodation.

Government is making every effort to accommodate asylum seekers against a backdrop of unprecedented demand. As I have set-out, work is progressing at pace to deliver on commitments made in CAS and this is a key priority for my Department.