Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
539. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if any expressions of interest have been received for the purchase or leasing of turnkey properties in accordance with the comprehensive accommodation strategy; the number of submissions received; the average accommodation capacity; and the average cost per unit of properties contained in the EOIs received, in tabular form. [22994/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn the 27th March 2024 Government agreed a new Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy (CAS) for International Protection applicants. The strategy seeks to address the current accommodation shortfall, while reforming the system over the longer term to ensure the State will always be able to meet its international commitments.
Accommodation in the new strategy will be delivered through the following multi-strand approach:
Use of State land for prefabricated and modular units
Conversion of commercial buildings
Targeted purchase of medium and larger turnkey properties
Design and build of new Reception and Integration Centres
Upgrading of IPAS Centres
The multi-strand approach focuses on both increasing State owned permanent capacity, and the upgrading of additional contingency accommodation, developed to specific national standards, to build an effective system to meet the new realities of increasing need while enabling the State to discharge its duty to meet the material reception conditions of IP Applicants, according to the guiding principles of the White Paper.
In order to deal with the demand led nature of the system, the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be a feature in the short to medium term. This accommodation will be contracted on shorter-term basis and if application numbers drop, can be decommissioned as contracts expire. It is planned that as new State owned and permanent commercial accommodation comes on stream the use of this emergency accommodation will reduce.
Once sufficient State owned accommodation has been delivered over the coming years, and emergency accommodation reduced substantially, the Government may, at that point, seek to reduce further the proportion of remaining permanent accommodation delivered by commercial providers and move to a fully or predominately State owned system
In terms of new accommodation numbers the table below details the proposed various accommodation types, capacity and ownership.
|
Accommodation Type |
Bed Capacity |
Ownership |
|
Reception and Integration Centres and Accommodation Centres, at or above national standards |
Up to 13,000 |
State Owned |
|
In-Community Accommodation for vulnerable persons, at or above national standards |
Up to 1,000 |
State Owned, operated in partnership with NGOs. |
|
Contingency Accommodation, at national standards |
Up to 11,000 |
Commercial Providers |
|
Emergency Accommodation |
Up to 10,000 |
Commercial Providers |
An Expression of Interest (EOI) process has been launched by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for the sourcing of suitable properties for acquisition or lease as International Protection accommodation.
As this is a live procurement process with commercially sensitive information DCEDIY cannot, at this current time, comment on the number of submissions received; the average accommodation capacity; and the average cost per unit of properties contained in the EOIs as requested.
