Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
474. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason a centre (details supplied) housing Ukrainian refugees has so many vacancies since last August, taking into account the pressure on accommodation for Ukrainian refugees; whether it is intended to ensure all accommodation centres have their full complement as far as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55985/23]
View answer475. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacancies in accommodation hosting Ukrainian refugees across the country; the reason for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55986/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 474 and 475 together.
The efforts and contributions of individuals, volunteers, communities, local authorities and NGOs across the country in welcoming and supporting those fleeing the war in Ukraine have been truly remarkable. The standard and scale of the humanitarian response is due to such efforts and is to be commended. Commercial accommodation providers contracted to my Department have played a valuable part in supporting this response.
Maximising the use of contracted vacancies is a priority for my Department. 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.
A dedicated team was established in Q2 of this year to actively validate these vacancies notified to us by accommodation providers to ensure these are within contracted capacity 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 90%, and my officials are actively contacting those outstanding providers not currently doing so to ensure we have a full picture of contracted vacancies.
The accommodation provider to which the Deputy refers is one of our contracted providers and has notified my Department of vacancies at that accommodation by sending a weekly vacancies register.
There are a number of circumstances, however, under which in-contract 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 to the relevant teams 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. While the number of total available vacancies notified to my Department are not insignificant and welcomed, 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.
