LIVING EXPENSES FOR international protection applicants will be increased as it is “likely” accommodation will run out for the cohort in the coming days, minister Roderic O’Gorman has revealed.
Speaking at an event in Dublin today, the Minister for Integration said no person has been turned away for accommodation as of last night, but “in the next number of days” the state will run out of accommodation.
O’Gorman said the department are working to accommodate families as a priority, “but when we are in a position – an extremely regrettable position – that we aren’t accommodating everybody will make those contingency measures”.
The minister detailed that the €30 weekly living expenses, given to applicants, will “need to be increased” and steps to identify particularly vulnerable applicants who could end up sleeping rough will be taken with gardaí and homeless charities.
However, O’Gorman said the Department will continue to prioritise accommodating families.
“It will probably be male applicants without families who will be left unaccommodated,” he added.
On Tuesday, Cabinet was informed that to date, Ireland is accommodating more than 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants (IPAs).
This includes over 74,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 25,500 IPAs currently in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.
As a result of accommodation constraints, the Department said it was facing the real possibility of a shortfall in accommodation in the coming days and Cabinet was told that officials will maximise the use of available accommodation.
Today, the minister said it was “likely” that there will be a shortfall this week:
“Everyone who has sought accommodation yesterday was accommodated. But it is likely that we will run out of accommodation for everyone seeking international protection in the next number of days,” he said.
On Friday, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission wrote to O’Gorman to express its “deep concern at reports of a shortfall in emergency accommodation for International Protection applicants”.
The commission noted a High Court ruling in April in a judicial review case “concerning the human rights of people arriving in the State seeking International Protection”.
That ruling found that “failure to provide International Protection applicants with material reception conditions was unlawful, and that it amounted to a breach of the applicant’s right to dignity under the Charter of Fundamental Rights”.
O’Gorman previously warned government last month of the risk of running out of accommodation last month – ahead of winter. The number of Ukrainians arriving into Ireland had returned to high figures of between 700 and 800 per week at the time.
Includes reporting by Christina Finn
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