Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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93. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of incidents reported in International Protection Accommodation Service centres for each of the past five years; and if he will provide a breakdown of these incidents by the nature of the incident and the centre in which they occurred, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68149/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The safety and wellbeing of all residents and staff in our accommodation centres is a priority for the Department and all IPAS teams.

IPAS is always available to deal with any complaints from residents and residents are encouraged to engage with IPAS if they are unhappy with any aspect of their accommodation.

Where a complaint is significant in nature or a resident is not comfortable raising a complaint with a centre manager, they may make the complaint directly, or through a representative authorised to act on their behalf, to the IPAS Customer Service Team.

Incidents that arise in centres are defined and set out in IPAS policies, from a broad scale of general, minor incidents that include petty theft or damage to property, complaints about behaviour or noise, to include incidents considered critical in that they relate mental health or self-harm incidents, violence towards staff or residents, or the unexpected death of a resident.

Guidelines are in place for IPAS staff and Department officials in relation to responding quickly to any incidents, taking action to ensure people are safe. This includes reporting to An Garda Síochána if this is necessary.

When any incident occurs, IPAS teams and centre management and staff work to ensure that residents involved can be supported, and that staff are trained and ready to respond in the right way, seeking support from officials and other agencies as needed.

Staff and centre management are also equipped to support other people affected, including any family members or friends of the resident in the centre.

Critical Incidents are events that happen in a centre that are outside the normal range of experience and may lead to significant injury, property damage or even death.

If a Critical Incident occurs in a Centre, Centre Management will assess the situation and alert emergency services as appropriate. Critical Incident Staff Training is provided to staff working in IPAS Accommodation centres. They are given examples of what constitutes a critical incident and what to do to respond.

Critical Incidents