Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 December 2023
153. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on progress to secure large sites for the housing of refugees, as was issued in respect of pledges of accommodation in individual residential homes; and if he will report on his engagement with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in respect of same. [54125/23]
View answerIreland is now accommodating approximately 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants. This compares with 8,575 in February 2022. This includes over 73,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 26,000 International Protection applicants currently in IPAS accommodation
Overseeing provision of accommodation on this scale during this timeframe for all those who require it remains immensely challenging. Emergency accommodation by its nature requires properties that are ready for occupation as needed. My Department has engaged with contracts with a large number of providers of serviced and self catering accommodations of various sizes across the country.
My Department has not appealed to the public for large scale sites in the same way as calls for pledges of accommodation in individual residential homes by the Irish Red Cross (IRC) or local authorities. The IRC and LGMA recently refreshed their campaigns in this regard to seek further pledges and a continuation of existing pledged arrangements. These hosting arrangements by private individuals, whether as part of these campaigns or privately arranged have been invaluable in assisting Ukrainian BOTPs to find emergency accommodation.
Due to the urgent need to source accommodation, my Department is currently considering large scale sites through the refurbishment project and Modular sites.
Offers which require refurbishment are now considered under the auspices of the Department of Housing Local Government & Heritage (DHLGH) refurbishment programme. As part of the refurbishment programme DHLGH work closely with the local authorities to assess and progress viable state and private commercial offers of accommodation in line with the Guidelines for Temporary Accommodation.
The Department has launched an online portal for developer-led modular accommodation on gov.ie where providers can submit expressions of interest. This portal seeks offers for developments with a capacity of up to 200 BOTPs, encompassing the site, units and all management services associated with them. Modular accommodation may potentially provide a further sustainable medium-term solution to assist in meeting overall accommodation requirements, allowing BOTPs to integrate into communities and possibly setting the stage for future housing development at sites. This programme will help establish the feasibility of the approach from a cost perspective and the capacity of the private sector to deliver appropriate solutions. The portal can be accessed here: gov.ie - Offers and Expressions of Interest in Commercial Accommodation for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs) from Ukraine (www.gov.ie/en/publication/d3422-offers-of-commercial-accommodation-for-beneficiaries-of-temporary-protection-botps-from-ukraine/)
