Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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240. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the publication of the brief on Irelands national immigration plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, if her Department has or intend to undertake a capacity audit of IPAS accommodation services to assess if they can meet the demands of faster case processing and potential increases in refusal decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16041/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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243. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the publication of the brief on Ireland's National Implementation Plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, when her Department intends to publish the list of proposed or approved locations for the new State-run international protection reception centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16054/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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244. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the publication of the brief on Ireland's National Implementation Plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, to outline the factors being used to determine the suitability of these locations, including access to health, education and public transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16055/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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247. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the publication of the brief on Ireland’s National Implementation Plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, if it is the intention of her Department to introduce a formal community consultation protocol in advance of opening the new State-run reception and future emergency accommodation centres, in order to counter misinformation and ensure local services are supported; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16113/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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248. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth following the publication of the brief on Ireland’s National Implementation Plan for the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, to outline specific resources being allocated to local authorities and community safety partnerships to manage tensions and support integration where new reception centres are planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16114/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 240, 243, 244, 247 and 248 together.

As you're aware, Ireland has opted in to the EU Asylum and Migration Pact, which will introduce a more comprehensive, streamlined, and efficient approach to asylum and migration both in Ireland and across the EU.While your questions may relate to how the Pact will have effect in relation to international protection accommodation centres, some aspects of your questions come under the domain of the Department of Justice and I have included information from that Department below.

Overall, a cross-departmental Programme Board is overseeing the national implementation plan for the EU Asylum and Migration Pact. This group will be working through the many elements of the national implementation plan and the State’s approach to meeting the requirements set out in the Migration Pact, which comes into effect from June 2026.

As regards issues of factors determining the suitability of locations, publication of the list of locations, capacity audit of IPAS accommodation, and analysis of local services, as they relate to Pact implementation, these matters remain under consideration by my officials and officials in the Department of Justice. It should be noted, however, that it is likely that existing IPAS facilities will continue to be used as accommodation centres under the new processes developed for the implementation in June 2026.

Should any new centres be developed, the Community Engagement Team will work to provide support and information to communities, elected representatives and community leaders and services as new centres open. The CET have worked through the openings of more than 120 accommodation centres with many examples of meaningful and productive engagement. In relation to larger State-owned sites, the model of engagement is developing to plan for more meaningful dialogue to support these larger centres, particularly those on state-owned lands.

Local Authority Integration Teams (LAITs) have been developed as a central part of a new Local Integration Model in collaboration with my Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). These teams provide on-going support to international protection (IP) applicants, programme refugees, and Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) to better enable them to engage with existing services and ultimately to live independently in the community.

Every local authority has a Community Integration Forum, funded by my Department, which brings together Government, State Agencies, NGOs, voluntary and community groups, to coordinate a community-led response to new people arriving to an area.

In 2023 and 2024, several funding programmes were made available in order to support integration in Ireland, including the National Integration Fund (NIF), Communities Integration Fund (CIF) and International Protection Integration Fund (IPIF). These projects have supported integration into the community; language, educational, and employment supports; and access to services.

In 2023, €50 million was approved through the Community Recognition Fund for 900 projects, including infrastructure projects, providing support to cities, towns and villages across Ireland. A further €50 million was made available under this fund in 2024.

The Department of Justice has also provided information on Community Safety Partnerships. A key principle of the Report of Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland is that community safety requires multi-agency cooperation working in partnership with An Garda Síochána and crucially with communities themselves. The Commission's report recommended the establishment of national and local structures to bring together Departments and State agencies involved in harm prevention to promote community safety.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 provides for the establishment of this national infrastructure, central to which are Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) which will operate at each local authority level. They will build upon the good work of the Joint Policing Committees (JPCs), supplementing this by bringing together a broader range of relevant stakeholders including local councillors, An Garda Síochána, local residents, community representatives, business and education representatives, and a range of statutory agencies including the HSE, Tusla and each local authority.

The objective is to bring the relevant bodies, including the Gardaí, together with communities in a collaborative manner, by focusing on the concerns identified and prioritised by local people.

Each newly established LCSP will be required to develop and implement its own tailored community safety plan and will take a strategic approach to their work so that issues arising can be dealt with in a coordinated manner; addressed collectively by relevant service providers in partnership with the community.