Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2024
974. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth regarding the proposed Midlands accommodation centre in Athlone, the security measures that will be put in place when the centre is operational to ensure the safety of the applicants and local residents. [45096/24]
View answer975. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the countries of origin of the international protection applicants that will be based in the proposed Midlands accommodation centre. [45097/24]
View answer976. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason that it is only single males that are going into the proposed Midlands accommodation centre in Athlone. [45098/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 974, 975 and 976 together.
The Government and this Department is making every effort to accommodate people seeking international protection, against a backdrop of significant demand over recent years. Providing reception conditions to applicants is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to provide shelter to people fleeing war and persecution in their home country.
The proposed development of the site at Lissywollen, Athlone for the accommodation of International Protection (IP) applicants is an urgent and important project, part of an overall Government strategy to provide accommodation for people applying for international protection.
Due to a number of well-documented factors, and against a backdrop of significant ongoing accommodation shortages, the Department has not been in a position to offer International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation to every adult male seeking International Protection (IP) since 4 December 2023.
From December 2023 to 29th October 2024, a total of 2,827 male IP applicants have not been offered accommodation.
Accommodation at Midlands Accommodation Centre will be provided in phases, starting with approximately 100 residents. Over several phases, it may increase to up to 1,000 residents. Accommodation will initially be provided in tented structures, with modular accommodation to follow at a later stage.
Further information about Midlands Accommodation Centre is available at www.gov.ie/midlandsaccommodation :
In relation to the countries of origin of residents at any IPAS accommodation centre, this information is not published by my Department on a site by site basis.
Under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015, the right to confidentiality of an IP applicant's identity is protected. Section 26(1) states that "The Minister and the Tribunal and their respective officers shall take all practicable steps to ensure that the identity of applicants is kept confidential".
The Department releases generic information such as age ranges and gender as these are traits common to people in the entire country. As such, they cannot be used to locate or identify a specific person.
However, nationality is more specific and may identify a person as an IP applicant. In addition, the person making the application is doing so on the basis that they are being persecuted or discriminated in their country of origin and they may have good reasons not to attract the attention of people they have fled from at home or of the diplomatic or security services of the country of their nationality.
My Department publishes information on countries of origin of residents in IPAS centres on an aggregated basis across the whole system, this information is updated regularly at the link below.
www.gov.ie/en/collection/90641-statistics/ .
