Direct Provision Data

Monday, 11 September 2017

Questions (646)

Gerry Adams

Question:

646. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons admitted to each direct provision centre in each of the years 2009 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and the length of time these persons have remained within the direct provision system. [38328/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality

The information requested is not compiled by the Reception and Integration Agency in the detail required by the Deputy. What can be said is that the RIA Monthly and Annual Reports published on the RIA website www.ria.gov.ie contain a wide range of statistics including the number of persons in each centre and statistics related to duration of stay. The following table details the numbers of new applicants for asylum accommodated by RIA.

Year	New Asylum Applicants Accommodated by RIA
2009	2062
2010	1391
2011	909
2012	715
2013	727
2014	1141
2015	2828
2016	1749
2017 (up to 31st August 2017)	1375

The following table details the duration of stay by applicants in state provided accommodation at the 31st August 2017. These figures are based on latest entry into state provided accommodation.

Less than 3 years	More than 3 years and less than 5 years	More than 5 years and less than 7 years	More than 7 years
3844	541	214	208

By comparison, the statistics for the duration of stay for applicants in state provided accommodation at the end of 2016 were as follows:

Less than 3 years	More than 3 years and less than 5 years	More than 5 years and less than 7 years	More than 7 years
3410	468	239	348

It should be noted that when the Working Group on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers examined the figures in 2015, there were 1,480 people in direct provision for 5 years or more. This figure is now 422 people. The vast majority of those cases that are still awaiting a final decision on their protection cannot be processed for various reasons such as pending judicial reviews. In effect, this means that all relevant people have received a first instance decision and for cases not fully resolved, there can be complex reasons why these cases have not been resolved.