The commitment to State-owned beds for international protection applicants will be quadrupled by 2028, the Government has said.
The Department of Integration has set a target of 14,000 State-owned beds by 2028 as part of a move away from full reliance on private providers.
The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Government’s handling of asylum-seeker accommodation, with the State currently not able to provide housing for all male arrivals – in contravention of international commitments.
Moves to accommodate asylum seekers in some towns' only operational hotel have led to angry backlashes, including at the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea.
Local representatives and residents have complained that closing functioning amenities deprives towns of commercial income for neighbouring businesses and leaves communities with nowhere to hold events.
The Cabinet signed off the new strategy for international protection applicants on Wednesday, described by the Department of Integration as “comprehensive.”
It includes a multi-strand approach to tackle accommodation shortages while reforming the system in the longer term.
The 14,000 target is four times higher than a previous commitment made in the Government’s 2021 White Paper on the direct-provision system for asylum seekers.
The department said that, where required, these State-owned beds will be supplemented by commercial providers.
Over the last year, there has been a spate of arson attacks on buildings earmarked or rumoured to be used for housing asylum seekers.
The department said its new approach will allow for improved community engagement around integrating international protection applicants, including limits on what buildings can be used.
It said: “It is the intention of this new strategy to end the use of unsuitable accommodation options currently relied upon, such as the sole hotel remaining in a given town.”
The department said it will be designing new “reception and integration centres” while upgrading existing International Protection Accommodation Services buildings.
Accommodation in the new strategy will also be delivered through use of State land for prefabricated and modular units, conversion of commercial buildings and the targeted purchase of larger turnkey properties.
The department said a number of State-owned sites have been identified, with the first to be brought into use within months.
It was a commitment of the Programme for Government to end the direct-provision system of accommodating those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution.
The department says that its new plan for 14,000 State-owned beds maintains the guiding principles of the White Paper on ending direct provision.
Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said: “The Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy agreed today by Government will address the immediate accommodation crisis in international protection, and provide a pathway, over the next five years, to deliver a fair, efficient, and sustainable model of accommodating international protection applicants.
“The strategy will allow us to develop a system where the State holds the reins on accommodation, its location and its standards. By ending the reliance on private providers, and increasing the proportion of State-owned accommodation, we can bring certainty and stability into the system.
By Cillian Sherlock, PA
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