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Direct Provision System

Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 3 December 2021

Friday, 3 December 2021

Questions (12, 44, 74, 77, 82)

Bríd Smith

Question:

12. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he expects the last of the direct provision centres to close. [59476/21]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

44. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the process to end the direct provision system. [59328/21]

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Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

Question:

74. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the ongoing work taking place within his Department to dismantle direct provision, as detailed in the White Paper; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59204/21]

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Pa Daly

Question:

77. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide an update on the implementation of the White Paper on ending direct provision. [58559/21]

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Catherine Connolly

Question:

82. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the status of the integration policy being developed by his Department in respect of the new model that will replace the direct provision system; when the new model will be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59447/21]

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Oral answers (8 contributions)

This series of questions is to find out from the Minister the status of the ongoing work within his Department to dismantle direct provision, as detailed in the White Paper. Will he make a statement on the matter and update us on the details?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 44, 74, 77 and 82 together.

Earlier this year, I published a White Paper to end direct provision and establish a new international protection support service. Since then, my Department has taken a series of steps to implement these reforms, with a view to completing them by the end of 2024.

A staff team has been established in my Department to lead the transition to the new model. Ending direct provision and putting in place the new system, with its focus on human rights, not-for-profit delivery, and integration from day one, requires a whole-of-government approach. My Department is therefore working closely with key stakeholders across government to plan, design, and implement the changes described in the White Paper.

I have appointed a programme board, including officials from relevant Departments and agencies, and independent members, to oversee the transition. The board has met four times since its establishment and its next meeting is scheduled for 16 December.

I have appointed a three-person external advisory group whose role is that of independent observer of the implementation of the new policy. Through its work, this group will help to build confidence in the reform programme among all stakeholders. This group has already met twice, most recently on 19 November.

As stated in the White Paper, I intend to have the new system of supports and accommodation for international protection applicants operational by December 2024. This means we are working to end the use of all centres that do not meet the requirements for own-door and own-room accommodation by this time.

We have made good progress on this objective to date. Working with the Housing Agency, my Department has begun to acquire the accommodation needed to implement the White Paper reforms. We are prioritising the acquisition of accommodation for phase 2 — that is, after people have completed their initial four months in a reception and integration centre and move into the community — and are now acquiring properties in this regard. We are planning for the process of moving the first applicants into this accommodation to begin in 2022 and for it to accelerate over the following years as more properties come on stream.

Working with the housing experts on the programme board, my Department is developing an ownership model for the accommodation, in addition to a funding model to enable approved housing bodies and other not-for-profit organisations to act as our delivery partners. A subcommittee of the programme board is finalising a policy approach concerning the ownership model. An allocation key to determine the spread of this accommodation across all counties has been agreed by local authorities and is being used to determine where properties should be acquired.

With respect to integration, the House will be aware that the White Paper commits to the principle of “integration from day one” for all international protection applicants. My Department is currently developing the detailed policy required to meet this commitment. Integration supports will be delivered during both phase 1 and phase 2 of the new model. My Department is working with local authorities to develop a system of integration supports.

A nationwide network of integration support workers will help to deliver these supports, building on the current model established under the Irish refugee protection programme. Applicants will also have access to integration supports delivered by service providers at a local level through interagency working groups co-ordinated by the relevant local authority.

When living in the community, applicants will receive an international protection support payment to enable them to meet their needs. A child payment will also be provided. A detailed policy on the international protection support payments is being developed by my Department. The draft policy was submitted to the programme board for review on 21 October 2021.

It will take time to end direct provision and replace it with a new and very different system of accommodation and supports, grounded in human rights and delivered on a not-for-profit basis. However, work to develop the new model is well under way and I am fully committed to implementing the model by December 2024.

I thank the Minister for the update. It is important today to acknowledge the work of both the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on undocumented migrants. It will have an important effect on asylum seekers. Undocumented migrants who have been here for four years are being given today a once-in-a-generation amnesty to remain here and have their status regularised. It will affect 17,000 people, including 3,000 children. This is welcome because, in the discussions with the various migrant groups and the Department leading up to this, I lobbied to bring asylum seekers into the process. With regard to the systems for asylum seekers who have been in the State in a documented way and people who have been here in an undocumented way, for various reasons, there had to be some measure of parity of treatment. I am glad asylum seekers have been included. How many will be affected? I believe the arrangement pertains to people who have been here for two years. It will have an effect on the Minister's dismantling work. How many asylum seekers does the Minister believe will benefit from the important announcement of the Government today?

I welcome the progress on this and the Minister's commitment to it. As he knows, it follows on from 21 years of an unjust and unjustified system. It follows on from the McMahon report in 2015, which made 173 recommendations; the Oireachtas report of former Deputy Ó Caoláin, an excellent report; the report from Dr. Catherine Day; and the White Paper from the Minister. I am mentioning only some of the reports. The Minister has a job on his hands because we have a major housing crisis. I appreciate that. I mentioned all the reports to give the background and the 21-year history. This is difficult to solve. When I read the White Paper and Catherine Day's report, I understood the complexity of the matter, but we have no choice. The Minister has set up an implementation body. Could he guide me on that? Is it an observer body or will it have power? How will the feedback come?

On regularisation, I am meeting the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne, after oral questions to launch the regularisation scheme. I am very excited about that. It is an important development, for which my party pushed very strongly in negotiating the programme for Government. The Minister and Minister of State in the Department of Justice have shown great leadership in this area. It will be a life-changing experience for undocumented migrants to fully regularise their affairs and participate fully in society. I particularly welcome the fact that the measure has been extended to international protection applicants who have been in the system for more than two years. We estimate that there are 2,800 in that category. The mechanism will be significant in regularising the affairs of the very large number who are already in the process. Therefore, when we bring in all elements of the White Paper, we will have a smaller number and will be able to move more rapidly.

On Deputy Connolly's question, we have a programme board that works at a high level, in that it brings in staff from my Department and experts from other agencies. It oversees the implementation overall. The transition team, comprising civil servants in my Department, is working on a day-to-day basis on implementing the White Paper. The advisory group, comprising Dr. Catherine Day, Dr. Lorcan Sirr and Dr. David Donoghue, is overseeing what we are doing, criticising if we are getting it wrong and giving us a bit of guidance. The transition team is working from day to day, the programme board is engaged in implementation at cross-departmental and cross-agency levels and making sure all Departments are working away on this, and the advisory group, which I hope will give good reports on progress, is in place to flag failures to meet deadlines. Catherine Day has a track record in this area, David Donoghue has worked very much in the area of international human rights and Lorcan Sirr, as we all know, is an expert in housing. Therefore, the advisory group includes the key areas. As the Deputy said, housing will be essential in getting this right.

I thank the Minister and I congratulate him, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, on the work here. It is a very important piece of work and is a credit to all of them.

I wish to raise an issue on which I have spoken to a number of asylum seekers and I know that this is not a universal one but is about the plans on housing. Many have told me that they do not necessarily want the housing assistance payment, HAP. They are working and capable of work and of earning, want more flexibility than that, and do not want a system that requires them to participate in a HAP-type model where they feel that they do not necessarily need it. I just wanted to highlight that point of flexibility within the work that the Minister is developing. It is certainly part of the feedback that I have received directly from people who are working in the medical and caring sectors, particularly in different parts of the country where there is less relative pressure on prices for rental accommodation and where they may have other arrangements available to them. I ask that the Minister keep that flexibility in mind from this feedback that I am giving him today.

I thank the Minister, and for his clarification also on the independent advisory group. Will those minutes or reports be available publicly so that we can see them? It is not that I do not trust the Minister but we have had 21 years dealing with this issue. Even when I outlined the reports I forgot to mention the Ombudsman’s many reports on it and I am sure that I have not mentioned other reports.

When one looks at the International Protection Accommodation Services reports, we got one back in November 2018. We were supposed to get them regularly. We have a new one now, the October one which is just out, and I welcome it. There has been a gap. Can the Minister explain why there has been a gap with these reports that give us updated figures and statistics? From what I can see there is a very significant gap between November 2018 and October 2021. That is my difficulty in this. With the enormity of the challenge, given the housing crisis, I welcome the not for profit approach, the human rights framework and the use of that language but it is making a reality of this which is important.

I acknowledge the point made there by Deputy Carroll-MacNeill and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, will be very happy if someone does not want HAP, if they can provide for themselves. We have always made provision where some people here are seeking international protection but do not enter direct provision because they are in a situation where they can provide for themselves. There is flexibility, yes, but there is a key issue about people being treated similarly to Irish nationals also, and that there is no distinction in treatment. That is also important in respect of the credibility of the overall system. I thank the Deputy for the point, nonetheless.

In respect of the Deputy Connolly’s point, I will follow up on the specific issue on the gap between reports as I am unsure what the answer to that is at this time.

The Deputy is completely correct in reflecting the failures to deliver on improvements in direct provision in the past and that is why it is so important for transparency. The reports of the independent advisory group, therefore, will be made public. The group members were very clear to me that they wanted to see themselves as having this independent oversight, that there was no element of window-dressing and that these are people who want to be engaged in this process. They all have a stake in this and have shown that from their track record. Their reports, be they positive or critical, will be independently available.

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