Direct Provision Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 October 2019

Thursday, 17 October 2019

Ceisteanna (151)

Niamh Smyth

Ceist:

151. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in direct provision by county in tabular form; the length of time they have been in direct provision; the supports being made available to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42681/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality

As the Deputy will be aware, the State has a legal obligation to offer accommodation, food and a range of other services (including utilities and healthcare etc.) to any person who claims a right to international protection in Ireland while their claim is being examined.

A whole-of-Government approach to direct provision means that several Government Departments and Agencies work closely together to ensure the necessary supports and services are provided to persons in direct provision. My Department offers accommodation and related services; the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection pays a weekly personal allowance to each resident and covers any exceptional needs; the Department of Education and Skills provide school places for children resident in the centres and provides that children also have access to the free pre-school scheme, the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme; and the HSE provides mainstreamed health services to residents.

I am advised by the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) of my Department that as of 13 October 2019, there are 6,066 people residing in 38 accommodation centres in the State, the locations of which are set out in the following table.

As these centres are currently operating at full capacity, there are also a further 1,478 people being accommodated in emergency accommodation in hotels and guest houses. My Department does not disclose the location of emergency accommodation centres in order to protect the identity of international protection applicants.  

IPAS Accommodation (as of 13 October 2019)

COUNTY	LOCATION	ADDRESS	CURRENT OCCUPANCY
Dublin	Balseskin	St. Margarets, Finglas, Dublin 11	433
Clare	Knockalisheen	Meelick	245
	King Thomond	The Bog Road, Lisdoonvarna	127
Cork	Ashbourne House	Glounthaune	89
	Davis Lane	73-75 Davis Street, Mallow, Co. Cork	57
	Kinsale Road	Cork	277
	Glenvera	Wellington Road	124
	Millstreet	Millstreet	300
	Clonakilty Lodge	Clonakilty, Co. Cork	108
Dublin	The Towers	The Ninth Lock, Clondalkin, Dublin 22	236
Galway	Eglington	The Proms, Salthill	195
	Great Western House	Eyre Square	146
Kerry	Atlas House (Killarney)	Killarney	90
	Atlas House (Tralee)	Tralee	100
	Atlantic Lodge	Kenmare	91
	Johnston Marina	Tralee	81
	Linden House	New Road, Kilarney	55
	Park Lodge	Killarney	44
Kildare	Hazel	Dublin Road, Monasterevin	120
	Eyrepowell	Newbridge	139
Laois	Hibernian Hotel	Main Street, Abbeyleixm, Co. Laois	51
	Montague	Emo, Portlaoise	206
Limerick	Hanratty's	Glentwirth Street, Limerick	117
	Mount Trenchard	Foynes, Co. Limerick	83
Longford	Richmond Court	Richmond Street, Longford	79
Louth	Carroll Village	Dundalk	71
Mayo	The Old Convent	Ballyhaunis	217
Meath	Mosney	Mosney	735
Monaghan	St. Patricks	Monaghan	214
Sligo	Globe House	Chapel Hill	199
Tipperary	Bridgewater House	Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary	152
Waterford	Atlantic House	Tramore, Co. Waterford	80
	Ocean View	Tramore, Co. Waterford	99
	Birchwood	Ballytruckle Road	147
	Viking House	Coffee House Lane	81
Wicklow	The Grand Hotel	Abbey Street, Wicklow	93
Westmeath	Temple Accommodation	Horseleap, Moate, Westmeath	89
	Athlone	Athlone	296

Length of Stay of IPAS Applicants in Direct Provision (as of 11 October 2019)

BY MONTH	BY NUMBER OF APPLICANTS
0>3	1073
3>6	810
6>9	629
9>12	614
12>18	1009
18>24	918
24>36	844
36>48	766
48>60	528
60>72	188
72>84	71
84+	116
TOTAL	7566

In relation to the length of time applicants spend in the international protection process, while some individuals may live for many years in direct provision centres, these are generally applicants who have received previous negative decisions and are exercising their right to appeal through the courts.

My Department has introduced a number of measures aimed at reducing the time taken to determine applications. The International Protection Act, 2015, introduced the single procedure process for the determination of protection applications. Under the single procedure all elements of a person's protection claim (refugee status, subsidiary protection status and permission to remain) are considered together rather than sequentially. The aim of the single procedure is to help reduce waiting times significantly.

An applicant who applies for international protection today can expect to receive a first instance recommendation/decision within approximately 15 months, provided that no complications arise. Prioritised cases are being processed in just under 9 months. Prioritised applications include those from countries such as Syria and Eritrea and from especially vulnerable groups of applicants, such as unaccompanied minors.  My Department is aiming to reduce processing times for all first instance decisions to 9 months by the end of this year.