Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2021
327. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of persons in direct provision; the number of these living in independent living units with facilities to cook their own food; if an open and fair complaints procedure has been put in place; the other reforms carried out to the system in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35755/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs of Sunday 27 June 2020 there were 6465 persons being accommodated by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) of my Department. Of this number 70.6% (4564) are being accommodated in centres that provide independent living facilities that include cooking facilities and 33.38% (2158) have own-door access to their accommodation.
As the Deputy will be aware, I have now published a “White Paper to End Direct Provision and to establish a new International Protection Support Service”. The White Paper sets out a new Government policy to establish a new International Protection Support Service which I envision will be fully operational by December 2024.
As we transition to the new system, in order to meet our legal obligations to provide accommodation and other support services for protection applicants, existing accommodation centres will continue to operate in the short to medium term; as such my Department currently utilises a mixture of state owned, commercial and temporary emergency accommodation centres.
The past year has seen a number of changes implemented by my Department as we work towards improving the facilities available in all dedicated accommodation centres to allow for greater independence for residents, allowing them to cook for themselves and have more family spaces. It is expected that, in the coming years, all families will be in some form of own-door accommodation that will meet their needs better than the current congregated accommodation.
There is an open and fair complaints procedure set out in the House Rules & Procedures Booklet for International Protection applicants. Complaints are made initially to the centre manager with a view to informal resolution. If the person concerned is not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint, he or she may make a complaint to IPAS who will investigate the matter and take action as appropriate. In the event that a resident is not satisfied with how his or her complaint is dealt with, he or she has full access to the services of the Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Children. In addition, a new dedicated Customer Services Team has also been recently been established in IPAS and, as well as strengthening the existing resident complaints system, this team will be taking a more proactive approach to dealing with residents' issues, actively engaging with residents through customer feedback mechanisms and focus groups in the months ahead.
A confidential Freephone telephone support service was also introduced last year to provide further support to all residents. The Freephone helpline is operated by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). If a resident wishes, a complaint made through this service may be passed, in confidence, to IPAS for investigation and resolution.
A Vulnerability Assessment process is currently being piloted by the IPAS. The pilot commenced in December 2020 and was extended to all new applicants for international protection from the beginning of February. The purpose of these assessments is to determine if, by virtue of a particular category of vulnerability, an applicant is deemed to have special reception needs, what those needs are and what actions are required to address those needs. IPAS assess the vulnerability of everyone who makes an application for international protection to the International Protection Office (IPO). Where an application includes children of an applicant, IPAS also assess their vulnerability in an appropriate manner.
A new Resident Welfare Team has been established which is a multi-disciplinary team with officials seconded from the HSE, Tusla and the Department of Education and focuses on case management of residents identified as particularly vulnerable. IPAS is also currently reviewing all of its operational policies to identify areas where there may still be gaps in terms of formally outlining how we meet the needs of our very diverse range of customers. A new IPAS website is expected to go live in early July and all operational policies developed to date will be published on that website.
