Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 February 2023
107. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the current and capital spend allocated to both Ukraine refugee and international protection applicant programmes within the recently revised estimates from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5816/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the revised estimates process my Department has been allocated the following current and capital expenditure budgets in 2023 for the accommodation and related supports of Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP) and International Protection (IP) applicants.
Allocated Spend for BOTP Accommodation
A total allocation of €641m, 20% of my Department’s vote, is being provided for the provision of accommodation for BOTPs. This includes a current expenditure allocation of €577.8m and a capital allocation of €63m. This allocation represents an increase of €48m (8%) on the 2022 allocation.
This funding will allow the Department to continue:
- Providing accommodation for BOTPS, including the use of CityWest Hotel as a transit hub and for accommodation purposes;
- Managing the Pledged Accommodation Scheme and related payments for participating households;
- Progressing the provision of the State Rapid Build Housing project. Further capital funding will be required in 2023 to meet the Government agreed expansion of the project from 500 units to 700 units. Work is currently ongoing to assess the additional capital funding required.
Allocated Spend IP Applicant Accommodation
An allocation of €395m, 12% of my Department's vote, has been provided in 2023 to meet the costs associated with the provision of accommodation for international protection (IP) applicants. This includes a current expenditure allocation of €385.436m and a capital expenditure budget of €9.5m. This represents an increase of €33m (9%) on the 2022 allocation.
This funding will allow the Department to continue:
- Providing accommodation to those seeking international protection and to cover the projected increase of costs related to an additional 12,000 – 15,000 IP arrivals in 2023. This is a demand-led service with requirements for accommodation and services increasing as numbers of new IP applications increase. In 2022 there has been a record increase in the number of new arrivals seeking IP accommodation in Ireland with 15,014 new arrivals seeking accommodation.
- Implementation of A White Paper to end Direct Provision and to Establish a new International Protection Support Service as committed to under the Programme for Government. The funding will be focused on operationalising key parts of the new model with a strong focus on Integration supports and expanding the state owned accommodation capacity of the system. Further engagement is ongoing with DPER to negotiate an increased capital budget for this programme in 2023.
The sufficiency of the Department’s budget allocation will depend on the numbers of newly arriving BOTPs and IP applicants who will require state funded accommodation in 2023. My Department and DPER will be actively monitoring this closely as the year progresses.
