Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020
761. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons resident at a direct provision centre (details supplied), by age, gender and family unit, on 20 July 2020; the accommodation by unit size and occupancy; if there are cases of mixed family units in individual units; if this relates to adults and-or children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17986/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 596 residents in the accommodation centre referred to by the Deputy. The centre accommodates a mix of families, couples and male and female single people.
These residents occupy 197 accommodation units. These units are a mixture of houses (54) and apartments (143) and all units have their own kitchen, living room and bathroom. 20 of the apartments are occupied by single people and the remaining 177 houses and apartments accommodate families.
While single people may share with other singles they never share accommodation with an unrelated family unit.
In some cases there are extended family members sharing a household, for example an aunt and her niece; a grandmother and her grandchild; an uncle and his nephew; a mother and her adult child or children; a couple and an adult sibling. In all such cases, a separate bedroom is provided for different genders.
The following table gives an age and gender distribution for the 596 residents residing in the centre as of 19 July 2020, the latest date for which figures are readily available.
|
Units |
Occupancy |
0-17 |
18-29 |
30-49 |
50-69 |
70+ |
Male% |
Female% |
|
197 |
596 |
50% |
12% |
33% |
4% |
1% |
44% |
56% |
The following table shows the distribution of the type of residential unit based on the number of bedrooms (includes both apartments and houses) and also the percentage of residents residing in each unit type.
|
Residential Unit Type by No. of bedrooms |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
Each bedroom may have up to 2 beds in the following configuration: 1 bedroom units may have 2 beds; 2 bedroom units may have 3 or 4 beds; 3 bedroom units may have 4 or 5 beds; and 4 bedroom units may have 4, 5 or 6 beds.
The centre has been providing independent living facilities since January 2017. An onsite shop allows residents to buy their own groceries and toiletries with allocated points provided for each resident.
The centre has a free bus service for all residents, which also brings the children to school and to services around the area. The children attend nine primary and four secondary schools in the area.
The centre also has an onsite Medical Centre and the HSE also provides Mental Health Services and Community Nursing onsite.
