Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
528. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the amount of additional funding his Department has given to charities since December 2023 for the purpose of providing tents and sleeping bags to homeless asylum seekers (details supplied). [22841/24]
View answerAs of 12 May 2024 there are over 30,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole (of whom 7,356 are children) compared with approximately 8,700 people at the end of February 2022. In the first 20 weeks of 2024, nearly 8,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking accommodation from the State. This is more than five times the average from 2017-2019.
Due to a number of well-documented factors, the Department of Integration has not been in a position to offer IPAS accommodation to every International Protection (IP) Applicant since 04 December 2023.
The Department has arrangements in place for the provision of services to assist those who await an offer of accommodation with Mendicity, Crosscare, Capuchin Day Centre and Tiglin at the Lighthouse. The Department is in also in regular contact with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, the Dublin Simon Community, and others, particularly with regard identification of particularly vulnerable individuals.
This includes the provision of tents and sleeping bags where required by IP applicants while all available accommodation capacity is in use.
Contractual arrangements for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) are commercially sensitive.
In relation to service providers contracted by IPAS to provide accommodation services to International Protection (IP) applicants, the information sought by the Deputy is being collated and will issue to the Deputy's office shortly.
