Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
1139. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of accommodation providers contracted to provide accommodation for Ukrainian citizens under temporary protection that have been asked to extend their contract provisions to include accommodating international protection applicants, by county, in tabular form. [12119/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraDue to continuing downward trends in BOTPs seeking accommodation from the State coupled with increases in BOTPs leaving State provided accommodation to seek more independent living, vacancies have arisen in my Department’s portfolio of commercial BOTP accommodation. These vacancy numbers change daily in response to moves in and out of accommodation and while they can appear significant at times, not all of these vacancies can be used in the short term.
Where a provider has not committed to renewing a contract or where an issue has been raised with my Department such that the provider’s offering is under review, vacancies cannot be used until these matters have been resolved. In addition, where contracts will end in the short term, a certain proportion of the portfolio of vacancies must be maintained so as to facilitate the movement of resident BOTPs.
Notwithstanding these limitations, my Department has recently undertaken a priority review of capacity within the BOTP portfolio to identify any vacancies that can be used for IPs in the short term and has begun engaging with providers in this regard. Up to 500 spaces have been identified and actions are now underway to move IPs into properties where BOTPs are and where vacancies exist with the agreement of the providers concerned.
Following the Government decision to implement a time limited accommodation offering for those seeking accommodation in the State, my Department has paused the procurement of commercial accommodation to accommodate BOTPs; providers visiting the offers portal are instead encouraged to consider accommodating IPs. Work has also begun to consolidate the wider BOTP portfolio so that it better aligns with future needs. Where contracts are being ended as part of this process, my Department will work to identify accommodation which could be suitable for use for IP. This is however a commercial decision to be made by the providers concerned and their agreement will be needed to make this happen.
While my Department is working to progress this as quickly as possible, this will be an ongoing process due to complexities of room configuration, contractual matters, and the requirement to move BOTPs to alternative accommodation.
