Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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162. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to review the process whereby international protection applicants may, at very short notice, be moved from the communities in which they have established connections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24441/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Justice, my goal is to ensure a robust and enforced immigration system. The international protection system should be efficient, giving people speedy decisions as to whether they are being granted international protection and integrated into our society, or not.

At the beginning of 2022, Ireland's international protection accommodation service sheltered about 7,000 people. By the end of 2024, this had expanded by almost 400% to accommodate 32,000 people, including over 9000 children with their families. This is a significant expansion, and the pressures that arise as a result must be managed.

People resident in IPAS accommodation may be moved to alternative accommodation centres as part of the accommodation process. For example, on initial arrival, people may spend time in centres that are designated for newer arrivals, while a longer-term assignment of accommodation is made for them.

During their period in IPAS accommodation, people may have to move to alternative centres for a variety of reasons, including family needs, renovations, regulatory or compliance issues at their accommodation, and pressures on capacity within the system overall.

IPAS works with residents and advocates to support people who may need to move accommodation. IPAS has a resident welfare team who support needs, including access to essential services like healthcare, and connect with other public and community services like the education system and local authority integration supports.

When a person completes their international protection application and gets a positive decision, they have a legal status that allows them to remain in Ireland. This also means they gain access to the full range of housing supports available to all Irish residents, which are not available to people going through the application process. There is a need for people with status to transition to living independently in our communities, improving their integration into our society while also creating space within IPAS accommodation for newer arrivals.

At the moment, approximately 5,300 people in IPAS accommodation have a legal status allowing them to remain in Ireland. When they are granted permission to remain, they are advised to seek alternative accommodation, and supports are available to help them to secure new accommodation options.

It is the case, where people have not been able to source their own private accommodation solution, that we have to ask people in IPAS accommodation to move to different centres at times. This overall policy is in place to help ensure accommodation in non-emergency settings is available to newly arrived people seeking International Protection who have an entitlement to accommodation under EU and Irish law and who do not have any access to standard social welfare or housing supports.