Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2020
499. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that residents of a reception centre (details supplied) are reporting that residents testing both positive and negative for Covid-19 are sharing bathroom and other facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6939/20]
View answer500. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the measures in place to ensure that residents in direct provision centres testing both positive and negative for Covid-19 are not forced into sharing bathroom and other facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6940/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 499 and 500 together.
I want to assure the Deputy that my Department is doing everything it can to protect the health and welfare of residents and staff in our accommodation centres, as well as that of the wider community. My Department is working closely with the HSE in doing so, and while the HSE advice has evolved over time, we have been assured by both it and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer that our approach is appropriate.
All centres are following the guidelines for our centres that have been published by the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre. These are publicly available at its website www.hpsc.ie . That guidance exists precisely because it is recognised that congregated settings such as Direct Provision centres present specific challenges in this pandemic.
The established procedure across all our centres where a person is suspected of having the virus or is confirmed as having the virus, is that, where advised by Public Health, they are moved to a dedicated off-site self-isolation facility where they are cared for until such time as the HSE decides that they can safely return to their centre. My Department has opened four dedicated self-isolation facilities (in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Dundalk) with capacity for 299 people. Residents in these facilities have their own bedroom and their own bathroom.
Since the start of the year, over 1,550 permanent and temporary new Direct Provision beds have been procured including the new dedicated centres in Rosslare Harbour, Caherciveen and Tullamore. We have relocated over 600 residents to support social and physical distancing in centres and cocooning measures for the most vulnerable. By doing this, we have ensured that no more than three single people are sharing a room in any centre. We intend to continue this policy after the crisis. All residents over the age of 65 and those advised to the Department as having a serious medical illness have been cocooned.
The Deputy is correct in saying that the facility in Balseskin is a reception centre rather than an accommodation (or Direct Provision) centre. Generally, new international protection applicants are initially accommodated in Baleseskin before being allocated accommodation in one of our network of centres around the State. In Balseskin, applicants are offered health screening by a permanent onsite HSE medical team. All public health responses required in Balseskin at this time are being led by the HSE team. In line with our agreed policy with the HSE, anyone with a positive result, and their close contacts identified by contact tracing, are asked to isolate and the most appropriate setting for their needs is identified, be that on-site self-isolation or transferring to an off-site isolation facility. The HSE makes the decision on the appropriate location based on the medical needs of the individual.
There are currently approximately 310 residents being accommodated onsite in Balseskin, which has capacity for 537 residents. The current occupancy has been reduced to facilitate social and physical distancing requirements.
