Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2019
92. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of offers received for the provision of direct provision centres in 2019 by local authority area; the number of rooms available in each centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45909/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has two separate approaches to securing accommodation centres for persons seeking international protection. In order to meet the long term needs of the Department, a regional procurement process on a national basis is ongoing. As the Deputy can appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on any individual bids before these processes are complete.
To meet the Department’s short to medium term requirements, expressions of interest were sought by way of advertisement through the national media. The Department has received many responses from every county. However, many offers of accommodation are not progressed to contract stage. This is due to a variety of reasons including -
- The offers of accommodation are for premises only with no on-site catering/management service
- Premises are unsuitable
- Capacity of premises are too small to be viable on an operational level
- Premises are offered by potential contractors for accommodation of asylum seekers as one of a range of commercial opportunities being pursued by the owners who subsequently choose to pursue alternative opportunities
- Agreement on commercial terms cannot be reached.
It would be inappropriate to list all of these offers by county and capacity as it could lead to inaccurate speculation on any premises that may match the capacity, which may compromise either the ongoing commercial activities or potential commercial opportunities for those premises.
