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Direct Provision System

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Questions (701)

Eoghan Murphy

Question:

701. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will clarify the mandate of the Reception and Integration Agency and whether or not the RIA has the power to delegate the care of asylum seekers and inspection of direct provision centres to privately operated, for-profit companies. [26947/13]

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Written answers

The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA), a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department, is responsible for the accommodation of persons while their applications for international protection are being processed. It is a multi agency organisation with staff seconded to it from the HSE, the Department of Education and Skills and the Irish Prison Service. Currently, there are 4,650 persons accommodated throughout the State in 34 centres under contract to RIA.

RIA is a creation of - and derives its mandate from - Government. It was created as a result of the huge challenges posed by increasing numbers of asylum seekers coming into the country in the late 1990s. To illustrate, in 1992, 39 applications for asylum were received in Ireland: this increased to 7,724 a year by 1999 and a further 10,938 in the following year. Most presented themselves in Dublin. The homeless service of the then Eastern Health Board could not cope and there was a serious prospect of widespread homelessness among asylum seekers.

A series of Government meetings was held to deal with the matter, involving input from several Government Departments faced with this challenge. The Directorate for Asylum Support Services (DASS), was established by Government decision in November, 1999 under the aegis of my Department to co-ordinate the scheme of dispersal and direct provision for asylum seekers. DASS was subsequently replaced, also by Government decision, by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) which continues to accommodate asylum seekers under the system of dispersal and direct provision.

RIA, as a unit of my Department, negotiates contracts with private sector companies to provide full board accommodation to asylum seekers in accordance with its Government mandate. RIA is subject to the same Civil Service obligations of fairness of implementation of policy as would any area of Government implementing a scheme. Using private contractors to accommodate asylum seekers is a sensible thing to do. It allows RIA to adapt quickly when the number seeking accommodation waxes or wanes. At the start of 2009, RIA had 60 centres: today it has 34. RIA has instituted tough cost saving measures in recent years – cutting capacities and per diem rates – without affecting the services provided to residents. Indeed, it is in the commercial interests of providers that as good a service as possible is provided to residents.

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