Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
1088. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of beds for international protection applicants which were empty in each week of 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11669/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra1137. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of currently vacant beds within the IPAS system, by county, in tabular form. [12117/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra1171. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of vacant beds in existing IPAS centres and BOTPS centres, by county location, and the remaining number of occupied beds in those same centres, by county location, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12549/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1088, 1137 and 1171 together.
The Department of Integration does not collate current vacant beds by county due to the variable nature of the data which changes on an hourly basis. I can update the Deputy that the usable capacity available in the system over the last number of weeks has ranged between approximately 200 and 500 beds across 280 centers. This equates to approximately 8 days of arriving international protection applicants.
The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) continues to make every effort to maximise bed usage across its system. Where beds are not being utilised this can be for a number of reasons and includes family configuration, contract management issues, capacity to support triage and reception processes in circumstances where there is very limited line of sight on new accommodation for single male applicants, and spaces reserved for the accommodation of families and children arriving in the coming days.
IPAS releases weekly statistics in relation to IP applicants. This includes a per county breakdown of where IP applicants are residing.
These statistics are also published on gov.ie - IPAS Statistics (www.gov.ie)
There are nearly 28,000 people accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole (of whom 6,356 are children) compared with nearly 20,000 people at this time last year. Together with Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection displaced by the war in Ukraine, this means that Ireland is now accommodating over 100,000 people in state-supported accommodation. Since January 2022, the Department has brought over 200 additional properties into use to accommodate those who arrive in Ireland seeking IP.
Intensive efforts are being undertaken daily by staff in DCEDIY to source emergency accommodation. However, procuring enough bed space to keep pace with incoming arrivals remains extremely challenging, leading to the current accommodation shortage.
