Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 January 2023
273. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans to provide additional accommodation for international protection applicants; if it is proposed to provide new accommodation at a location (details supplied) for such applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2490/23]
View answerWhile the Department is considering offers of buildings to be repurposed for accommodation, my officials can confirm that it does not possess a record of this property, that no offer has been made in respect of same and that it is not under consideration for use as international protection accommodation.
To provide some context as to the pressure the Department is under to procure accommodation for arriving international protection applicants (IPAs) you should note that the accommodation of international protection applicants (IPAs) is a demand-led process with applicants arriving in the country and seeking accommodation spontaneously.
During the twelve months of 2022, over 15,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking accommodation while their applications for international protection are processed by the international protection office. In the first 15 days of 2023, 633 people have arrived seeking international protection in Ireland.
As of 9 January 2023, there are over 19,300 people accommodated in the IPAS accommodation system as a whole. This includes the National Reception Centre and IPAS accommodation centres, City West transit hub and emergency accommodation. Of this total, 4,010 are children.
At this point in 2022, there were approximately 7,500 persons in IPAS accommodation.
These figures are in addition to the arrival of almost 65,000 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection since 24 February 2022, as a result of the war in Ukraine. To date, over 55,000 BOTPs have sought and received accommodation assistance from the State.
The pressure on the State to accommodate almost 75,000 people currently has led to significant shortages particularly for the international protection cohort.
All of the limited accommodation capacity within the IPAS system is currently being used. Given the significantly increased numbers of arrivals in the context of accommodation shortages, the Department has no option but to consider all offers of accommodation.
Emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country. There have been circa 60 accommodation locations utilised since January across 17 counties.
The Department is availing of all offers of accommodation made to it, including the use of office buildings and sports facilities, to address the accommodation shortfall. These options are necessary in order to provide shelter to international protection arrivals, to meet basic needs and to prevent homelessness.
I trust this information clarifies the matter, Deputy.
