Vol. 522 No. 4
218 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of properties in the Dublin area with ten rooms or more which have been leased by the State for the purpose of housing refugees; the location of these properties; the annual rental in each case; and the length of the lease in each case. [18899/00]
I assume the Deputy is referring to asylum seekers as opposed to refugees. Asylum seekers enter the country on their own initiative and my Department co-ordinates their accommodation and other needs under the direct provision system currently in operation while their asylum applications are being processed. Programme refugees enter the country at the invitation of the government and are looked after by the refugee agency which currently operates under the aegis of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Once granted refugee status asylum seekers are entitled in general to the same rights as an Irish citizen and would have the same access to local authority housing.
In so far as my Department is concerned the directorate for asylum support services, which was established in November 1999 under the aegis of my Department, is responsible, inter alia, for meeting the accommodation needs of asylum seekers. Under the arrangements in place since 10 April asylum seekers are accommodated by the directorate at initial reception centres in Dublin for a period of one-two weeks for the purposes of medical screening, needs assessment, the provision of information and processing of the initial stages of their asylum applications before being resettled at other locations around the country.
The following properties, consisting of 10 rooms or more are used by the Directorate in the Dublin area: The Parnell West Hotel, Parnell Square, Dublin 2, 88 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4, 10 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, 14 Gardiner Place, Dublin 1, The Viking Lodge, 34-36 Francis Street, Dublin 8.
There are also three smaller properties in use by the directorate in the Dublin area with a total of 23 rooms. The Parnell West Hotel was purchased on behalf of the directorate. In respect of the other properties proprietors have been contracted by the directorate to provide full board accommodation for asylum seekers. The rates of payment to these proprietors vary from £27,216 to £114,987 per 4 week period.
The contracts, are for a period of 12 months, in general. Contracts for a two year period are in place for the properties at 88 Pembroke Road and Viking Lodge.
Prior to 10 April, the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers was handled, in the main, by the Eastern Health Board, in whose administrative area the majority of asylum seekers are located. Recent enquiries with the Eastern Health Board show that there are in excess of 2000 asylum seekers living in emergency accommodation in over 80 different locations within their area. However no details are available to my Department regarding the accommodation capacity at these locations.
