Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 April 2025
658. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will remove the planning circumvention available to IPAS centres to ensure greater transparency and communication engagement. [15598/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThank you for your question, Deputy.
Planning regulations, whatever their purpose, are the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage.
For background information that may be of use to the Deputy, my Department's International Protection and Integration Division is responsible for sourcing and providing accommodation for people applying for International Protection (IP) in Ireland. Demand for accommodation has grown exponentially with a 400% increase in beds provided since mid-2021.
The legal basis for accommodating IP applicants is the Reception Conditions Regulations, which set out the accommodation and other conditions for IP applicants while their claim for international protection is being assessed. The EU Migration Pact, which Ireland opted into in July 2024, will set out the future legal framework in due course.
IP accommodation is provided in a wide range of centres and locations. Currently, most of our accommodation is provided by commercial providers contracted directly by the State. There are over 320 accommodation centres all over Ireland.
The commitment to continue and extend the use of State lands and development of a State-owned portfolio of properties was set out in the Programme for Government 2025.
Since March 2024, a Government strategy for international protection accommodation has been in implementation. Accommodation is being developed and delivered through a range of channels.
A multi-strand approach focuses on both increasing State-owned permanent capacity, and upgrading additional contingency accommodation, developed to specific national standards. This aims to build an effective system that can meet the new realities of increasing need and the upcoming implementation needs of the Migration Pact in 2026.
Because this will take time and our system is demand-led, commissioning emergency commercial accommodation will continue to 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.
The degree of control given to the State by the creation of core supply of State-owned accommodation, of both emergency and permanent options, will increase as supply is delivered, re-establishing strategic direction over the accommodation type, location and dispersal pattern.
I trust this information is helpful.
