Each accommodation provider who has a contract with my Department to provide accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) is required to notify my officials of any vacancies at the accommodation on a weekly basis. The accommodation provider to which the Deputy refers is contracted with the Department for a number of properties and is in contract negotiations in relation to further properties. My Department can only utilise vacancies where a property is in contract with us. This accommodation provider has notified of vacancies at some of these contracted properties by sending a weekly register via email to a designated mailbox.
Maximising the use of contracted vacancies is a priority for my Department. A dedicated team was established in Q2 of this year to actively validate vacancies notified to us by accommodation providers to ensure these are within contract and meet our standards. In addition, improvements to our processes have significantly increased accommodation provider compliance with the requirement to submit weekly registers, currently over 82%, and my officials are actively contacting those outstanding providers not currently doing so to ensure we have a full picture of contracted vacancies.
There are a number of circumstances, however, under which vacancies cannot be used in the short term and must be paused. Where a provider is nearing the end of their contract, for example, or where an issue has been raised with my Department such that the provider’s offering is under review, vacancies notified by that accommodation provider will not be filled until these matters are resolved to ensure the safety and security of BOTPs.
Vacancies which are suitable for immediate use are made available by my officials to operational teams at Citywest and in our Relocations team for allocation. Due to varying room configurations and geographical location, some vacancies may take longer to fill then others given they are utilised to meet the specific requirements of individuals and family groups of BOTPs.
The total number of vacancies available for allocation changes daily as vacancies are both validated and allocated to BOTPs on a daily basis. The average weekly arrival rate of 500-600 BOTPs seeking state supported accommodation despite active management of suitable vacancies, necessitates the use of contingency measures such as tented accommodation. It is my Department's policy that BOTPs will be in tented accommodation for as short a time as possible and BOTPs being periodically moved out of the tents at Stradbally are then allocated to contracted vacancies.
It is important to note that a large proportion of the vacancies notified will be for small numbers of beds in disparate locations which brings logistical difficulties. Where small numbers are identified these are regularly single beds available in family rooms with resident BOTPs, which are difficult to fill. Also, it is often the case that when operational teams seek to use vacancies that have been notified, accommodation providers will reduce the numbers of beds previously indicated to my officials due to rooms being refurbished or needing repair.
My Department will continue to engage with providers to fill suitable vacancies where this is possible.
