Pressure Mounting as Hospitality Sector Makes up 80% of Asylum Accommodation Locations. - Tóibín
Speaking in the Dáil today Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín detailed figures he received through Parliamentary Question on the breakdown of asylum accommodations. He stated:
“Most Irish people want to help those who are fleeing from violence, war and famine. Most Irish people want to be the Good Samaritan in this time of need. And it must be said that, to date, many refugees and migrants have been welcomed successfully in many parts of Ireland. But people also want some common sense and cop on deployed also. They want a properly managed system and a sustainable system. This is clearly not what is happening”.
“The application process is one of dysfunction. There are 14,100 pending applications for asylum at the moment. Thousands are waiting 2 and 3 years for their first decision to be made. The longest processing time for an application was an incredible 14 years. This is even before an appeal is made”.
“The job of the asylum application process is to differentiate between real asylum seekers and those who are economic migrants. Leaving 14,000 people in the application process sometimes for years puts severe pressure on accommodation. It reported that 5,000 asylum seekers arrived in Ireland without valid travel documents last year. That’s 40% of the total number of people applying for asylum. This is unsustainable”.
“4,631 deportation orders were issued to people whose application for asylum was rejected between 2018 and last year. The Government cannot confirm if 3,887 of these people who received deportations actually left the country. If the government are not enforcing deportations, we have in effect a voluntary deportation system. You could not make it up”.
“According to the PQ answers that I have received over 80% of the locations being used to house asylum seekers are either hotels or guest houses. This dependency on the tourism sector for accommodation is having a massive effect on the ability of thousands of families to me able to earn a living. Hundreds of downstream tourism businesses are facing major challenges under the government’s current strategy”.
“This dependency has been down to incompetency on the government’s behalf. 500 modular homes promised this time last year for October are still not in place. 85% of the pledged rooms in private houses throughout the country for Ukrainians were never activated and hundreds of buildings identified and bought by the government for the purpose of accommodation were never brought into use”.
“This state does have international responsibilities. But we also have domestic responsibilities too. We must do what we can to but there is a question of physics here that we can see on Mount Street. The current trajectory in terms of the dysfunctional asylum process and the inability of the government to provide housing is not sustainable”. CRIOCH
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For Written Answer on : 23/05/2023
Question Number(s): 656 Question Reference(s): 24085/23
Department: Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Asked by: Peadar Tóibín T.D.
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QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Children; Equality; Disability; Integration and Youth if he will provide a breakdown of the number of refugees and international protection applicants that are accommodated in each county in the State; the number of refugees and international protection applicants that are homeless, are accommodated in tents, accommodated in hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, accommodated in direct provision, accommodated in modular homes, and accommodated in refurbished offices; and the number of refugees and international protection applicants accommodated in other accommodation categories not above listed.
REPLY
There are currently 81 guest houses, 8 hostels and 57 hotels providing emergency accommodation to international protection applicants (IPA's).
15 accommodation centres fall into the "other" category, which includes the use refurbished office buildings.
9 former college buildings are currently in use, along with 2 tented accommodation providers, 1 National Reception Centre, 1 Transit Hub and 3 System Built centres.
IPAS also has contractual arrangements with management of 18 apartment complexes.
Please see, in tabular format, the accommodation types and current occupancy of IPAS accommodation centres.
Accommodation Types
Number of Centres
Total Occupancy
Of Whom Children
IPAS Accommodation Centres
48
6,967
2,075
Emergency Accommodation Centres
143
12,184
2288
National Reception Centre
1
461
57
City West Transit Hub
1
771
0
Temporary Tented Accommodation
2
102
0
Total
195
20,485
4,420
As at close of business 18th May 2023, there were 523 IPA's awaiting an offer of accommodation.
Please see in tabular format, the number of IPA's accommodated in each county across the country.
County
Occupancy
Carlow
45
Cavan
136
Clare
578
Cork
1,500
Donegal
1,140
Dublin
7,458
Galway
666
Kerry
507
Kildare
677
Kilkenny
118
Laois
534
Leitrim
106
Limerick
414
Longford
77
Louth
637
Mayo
836
Meath
915
Monaghan
513
Offaly
186
Roscommon
122
Sligo
257
Tipperary
493
Waterford
573
Westmeath
681
Wexford
233
Wicklow
1,083
Total
20,485
I trust this information clarifies the matter.
