Niamh Smyth
Question:497. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding direct provision. [5705/21]
View answerWednesday, 3 February 2021
Questions (497)
Written answers
I am aware of the petition urging the Government to end the current system of Direct Provision for accommodation and other services to international protection applicants who require such supports.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to ending the Direct Provision system and replacing it with a new International Protection accommodation policy, centred on a not-for-profit approach. The Government has also committed to the development of a White Paper which will set out how this new system will be structured and the steps to achieving it.
My Department is currently developing the White Paper, which will set out options, together with the recommended direction, for the new model of accommodation and services for International Protection applicants and the transitional processes needed to implement the model. Options for developing a not-for-profit approach are currently being examined in this regard.
A large scale programme of consultations involving Government Departments and State bodies has taken place. The Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, and the City and County Managers' Association were some of the bodies included in these consultations. In addition, representatives of accommodation centre residents and civil society organisations with refugee policy/practice expertise and housing policy/practice expertise (including Approved Housing Bodies) have been consulted.
Good progress has been made on drafting the White Paper and work is now focusing on testing the accommodation proposals that will be contained in it. In view of the extent of change proposed, the White Paper will take some more time than originally envisaged and it will now be submitted to Government in February.
The replacement of the direct provision system is complex. It is recognised by all involved that it will take some time. In order to meet our legal obligations to provide accommodation and other support services for protection applicants, existing accommodation centres will continue to operate in the short to medium term. However, in doing so we will be focusing on the provision of own-door accommodation and facilities to allow for independent living (access to cooking and laundry facilities and communal family areas outside bedrooms) and greatly reducing any need for the use of hotels and guest-houses as an emergency measure.