Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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118. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she will put plans to provide an IPAS centre in a facility (details supplied) on hold to allow for engagement with the local community; if she can provide clarity on the future of the current Ukrainian residents of the hotel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20782/25]

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

Ireland currently provides accommodation to over 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed over 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. Our accommodation systems have been forced to expand at a rapid pace over the last two years in response to a sharp increase in need among both groups.

The over 114,000 people who arrived from Ukraine, and a significant increase since 2022 in applications for international protection, have come at a time when accommodation in Ireland is in short supply across all dimensions.

Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country, and intensive efforts have been made, as part of a whole of Government response, to ensure people in need were provided with shelter and support. Over the last 2 years, against this backdrop of unique events in Ukraine, increased need, and the acute shortages of accommodation, it has not been possible for my Department to apply many specific policies in relation to distribution of accommodation centres.

My Department recently announced that 98 beds for families seeking international protection will be provided at the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara. The property was previously used to house people who were beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Directive due to the war in Ukraine and was also used as an International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centre prior to 2022.

The Community Engagement Team in my Department was set up to engage directly with elected representatives, relevant Local Authorities, Local Development Companies, and other entities and individuals. The purpose of the team is to improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into areas and to help equip local communities with the accurate information required to help them understand the current situation.

When a contract has been agreed with a provider, the Community Engagement Team issues a full Briefing Note to elected representatives and key stakeholders including the Department of Health and the Department of Education to advise them that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth intends to commence use of a property to provide temporary shelter for people seeking international protection.

In this respect, detailed information was sent to all local elected representatives and key stakeholders on 18 March about the use of the Merriman to accommodate people seeking international protection.

On 27 March, the Community Engagement Team met with local elected representatives at their request. At the request of local community representatives and local elected representatives, the Community Engagement Team organised a meeting with community representatives on 31 March which was postponed at their request. The meeting was rescheduled to 9 April and went ahead. The Department’s Community Engagement Team has been in regular contract with local representatives and groups, including the meetings mentioned, personal contacts and ongoing correspondence.

Having engaged extensively with the community over the last month, we will now progress providing refuge to families at this location. In terms of the people from Ukraine who remain at the property, they will stay at the Merriman for the time being, and will be accommodated under the new arrangements.

At the moment, relocations of people from Ukraine are paused, and if any new information becomes available on longer-term accommodation arrangements for this group, residents and local community groups and supporters will be updated without delay.

One of the queries raised during community engagement in Kinvara was the agreement to not contract IPAS accommodation in a given town’s only operating hotel, which was accepted by Government during the period of intense need and was agreed to on the basis of not removing an important current amenity from public use.

This was based on not accepting a new contract that would take a town’s last hotel out of public use for events, holiday or business stays, and day to day use by the town for food, socialising or leisure.

In the case of the Merriman Hotel in Kinvara, our understanding is that this hotel has not been in public use since the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2022 it has been contracted to this Department to accommodate people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In this circumstance, it hasn’t been considered necessary to reject such an offer from a property as it was not providing a hotel facility in this community. In terms of hospitality accommodation, there is a diverse range of bed and breakfast accommodation in Kinvara for visitors wishing to stay there.

I hope that this information is helpful and I thank the Deputy and his colleagues from the area who have participated in the engagement process.

Following the coming Transfer of Functions on 1 May 2025, this work will be continued by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration.