Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
96. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he expects to publish the revised White Paper on ending direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9686/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra121. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 1070 of 7 November 2023, the status of the review of the project timelines for the implementation of the White Paper to end direct provision and establish a new international protection support service; if the review has been completed to-date; the timeline for the publication of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9502/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra141. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide an update on the current discussions within his Department with regard to the long-term plans to deal for dealing with those arriving in the country seeking protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9551/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWe need a fair, efficient and enforced immigration system. On the Government's watch, it has failed on all three of those counts and probably no more so than with the failure to tackle the issue of direct provision in a policy that was laid out in 2020. There has been some chatter and commentary about a revision of the ending of direct relation. In November, it was said that a memorandum would be presented to Cabinet. We are now in March. The Minister might outline where things are at in terms of revising the White Paper, particularly the ending of direct provision?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 121 and 141 together.
As of 23 February, the State is providing accommodation to more than 27,400 international protection, IP, arrivals. In tandem with this, approximately 104,000 Ukrainian nationals have been granted temporary protection orders with more than 70% residing in accommodation provided by the State. In short, the State is under extreme pressure to provide accommodation.
In this context, there is very clear recognition across the House that the underlying assumptions on which the original White Paper published in February 2021 were based on do not match the reality any more. That was looking at a system of approximately 3,500 people seeking international protection on an annual basis, and that was based on an average of the previous ten years. Obviously, now, we see a situation where we had 12,000 people seek IP last year and in which 13,000 people sought international protection in the previous year.
My Department is, therefore, reviewing the White Paper. We are bringing forward a revised accommodation approach that tries to be as comprehensive as possible, particularly in recognising the urgent and immediate steps that need to be taken in terms of a situation where more than 1,000 people are unaccommodated right now, and the very real pressure of providing housing and accommodation for people in family units. However, it is also a recognition that we need to move to a longer-term, more stable system.
The system I inherited, which was absolutely focused on private provision, is not fit for purpose. We need to change it and the key element of that change means there has to be a central element of State-provided accommodation. That is what I am working to deliver in terms of the revised White Paper. We also have to recognise that the White Paper was not just about accommodation, albeit we absolutely and rightfully focus on that. However, the White Paper was about two other elements as well. It was about supports and integration. We have taken significant steps on both of those fronts. In terms of integration, for example, my Department announced finances and a local authority integration team in every local authority in the country. These are teams of four that are involved in working and linking both international protection applicants and Ukrainians with State services in that particular area, be they from the local authority or other areas. I believe 11 local authorities have got them fully up and running but all local authorities are funded for these posts. Again, they are funded directly from my Department. I really welcome the fact that the local authorities are becoming more involved in this integration space.
Other very practical supports in terms of integration include allowing international protection applicants to get a driving-----
Is Deputy Farrell all right?
Yes. I made an entrance.
They include granting of driving licences to international protection applicants and allowing them to open bank accounts. They are very simple things but they are also very important. Obviously, reducing the period within which someone can apply for work to six months is a very important step.
In terms of supports, we have done a significant amount of work with the counselling in primary care, CPCs, services. My Department has funded CPCs across the country to be able to engage directly with families and children, particularly in international protection accommodation. We have, of course, the international protection integration fund. That is primarily supporting NGOs and community groups undertaking local work to integrate international protection applicants locally. There have been significant advances on the support elements and integration elements. The accommodation element has to be rewritten in terms of the very changed circumstances we are experiencing. Work is ongoing. Even this week, extensive negotiations were taking place in terms of the revised White Paper. I hope to be able to bring it to Cabinet and publish it very shortly.
I thank the Minister for that. Unfortunately, however, there is no clarity. Assurances were given as far back as November that an updated or revised memo on the White Paper would be produced and given to Cabinet within weeks of that.
We are now in March and the Minister is failing to address the elephant in the room that is the war profiteering by many speculators right across the State. Only this week, we have seen one particular individual and his family in Monaghan making €130 million from the provision of accommodation to the State. The Minister has failed dismally. The Government has failed in the basics that need to be provided to people coming to these shores under a fair, efficient and enforced system. We see the failures. The Minister alluded to the fact that only this week more than 1,000 vulnerable asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of the capital. At the same time, we see profiteers making millions and all along there is no plan. That lack of plan is the central failure by Government time and time again. We see that even with a revised White Paper and still no end in sight as to what plan the Government has to work off.
The Deputy should hold on. We are providing those basics that he mentioned to more than 100,000 people.
It is providing the basics of a tent.
My Department was providing-----
A tent to 1,000 asylum seekers?
The Minister to reply.
My Department was providing accommodation to 7,500 thousand people in December 2021 and is now providing accommodation to more than 100,000 people. No other Department has ever had to meet such an enormous humanitarian challenge in such a tight period. I have always accepted in this House that the response has not been perfect and there are elements we could do better. If we had known there was going to be a war in Ukraine breaking out in February 2022, we could have done things differently, but we did not know that. Nobody knew that and we have had to respond in the best way we could to meet the basic needs of people here fleeing that war and wars in Syria and Afghanistan and conflicts throughout the Middle East. We have done our best with the system we had. While we are meeting those very immediate daily needs, we are also bringing forward reforms to make that system different in the future.
Not only is the Minister failing communities, he is also failing those who are coming to these shores seeking protection by providing non-human right-compliant accommodation, something he gave a commitment to end. I appreciate without a doubt that there have been challenges. However, when the war in Ukraine broke out, the Minister and his Government colleagues were saying we should expect up to 200,000 Ukrainians to come to this State. That has not materialised. Where was the plan to accommodate 200,000? The Government does not even have a plan to accommodate 100,000. Time and time again, it has failed. It has failed communities and those who are seeking our protection. The failure is in not having a fair, efficient and enforced system in place. Again and again, we are told we will have a plan but it will come in a couple of weeks and will be presented to Cabinet. Here we are in March. The Minister gave a commitment to this House back in November that a plan would be produced and handed over the Cabinet within weeks, there is no sight as to what the Government's plan is to address the war profiteering in the first instance, where these speculators are making millions on the back of this, and more importantly, to put in place human right-compliant accommodation for those who need it.
I thank the Deputy. We have in place an efficient system for the processing of Ukrainians arriving here seeking temporary protection.
There is no efficient system.
The system for Ukrainians has worked extremely well and that is why we have been able to welcome-----
What about international protection applicants?
-----more than 100,000 Ukrainians and allow them integrate into communities all over the country.
Regarding IP the system was not fit for purpose. It was a system in which people were spending from six to eight years trying to get their application processed. That is why the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has made major changes. She has doubled the number of staff in the international protection office. The staff are processing more than 1,000 applications every month to give people their first-instance decision. We have examined the safe country list and expanded that where it is relevant. We have put in place changes such as removing the visa waiver for those who have received international protection elsewhere. We have a rules-based system and we have improved those rules.
The rules are not enforced.
We have tightened up those rules and we will continue to examine the system to-----
Rules are only as good as their enforcement.
-----make sure they are robust for the numbers of those seeking international protection now.
With the agreement of the House and if the Ministers are agreeable, the next question is in the name of Deputy Pauline Tully and then I will move back to Deputy Farrell's questions, Nos. 93 and 95.
