I propose to take Questions Nos. 65, 67 and 78 together. The response to the ongoing migration crisis has entered a difficult phase with limited accommodation for international protection applicants available in the short-to-medium term, particularly for single adults. I can assure the Deputies that every effort is being made by my Department to address the current shortfall in accommodation. Since 1 December 2022 to 30 January 2023, more than 1,700 additional spaces have been brought into use by the International …

To answer Deputy Aindrias Moynihan's questions first, we have a significant number of contracts with hotel accommodation providers. We are looking to renew those through the new contract, which takes a bed-only approach to accommodation. To date, no provider has rejected the new contract and a significant number have signed up to it. This is positive in terms of our ability to maintain the existing level of capacity. We continue to engage and, as contracts come up for renewal, we will engage with more contractors t…

We will continue to use rest centres. They are an extremely important part of our response and part of the contribution local authorities have made. There may be a greater call on local authorities for the use of rest centres, especially as we enter the summer, depending, as the Deputy said, on the numbers that continue to arrive. Numbers have been lower since Christmas but last week, for example, they increased again to 124 per day. The issue of communications is important. If we are moving Ukrainians from accommo…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 102 together. The arrival of more than 70,000 people seeking accommodation in Ireland, displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine - the largest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War - and those seeking international protection has placed severe pressure on the State to respond to this challenge. As of 29 January 2023,19,635 people are accommodated in the international protection system as a whole, compared with 7,500 in late 2021. Emergency centres hav…

I thank the Deputies. As I said in an earlier reply, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has put in place a statutory instrument which allows for the conversion of office and other buildings to international protection accommodation, recognising the particularly difficult challenges we face with accommodating Ukrainian and international protection applicants right now. That is being applied in this situation, and this is why there is a change of use of that building. This is not like other situ…

In response to Deputy Wynne's question, a statutory instrument has been put in place that creates a planning exemption for the use of facilities for international protection or Ukrainian accommodation. There are two separate planning exemptions, and that has been applied in this situation. It allows a change of use to take place in the building in Shannon. Other elements of the building code, such as fire certification and building management controls, continue to apply. A building such as this cannot be used until…

As the Deputy is aware, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is the statutory body with responsibility for child protection and welfare services. If I or my officials become aware of a situation in which a child is considered to be at risk, that concern is communicated to Tusla as a matter of urgency. The Children First Act 2015 places a number of statutory obligations on specific groups of professionals and particular organisations providing services to children. The Children First guidance 2017 includes informatio…

The Deputy is correct. The protection of children is the primary obligation on Tusla. By and large, the removal of children from their families is a last resort and is undertaken in situations where the social worker or indeed An Garda Síochána feel there is a significant risk to the child and they have to intervene. Where that takes place, the response is as much as is possible to place a child with a foster family to ensure he or she is in as natural a family atmosphere as possible. A total of 90% of children in …

The Deputy is probably referring to specific cases of which he has direct experience. I know he has advocated on this issue. He understands that, as Minister, I am unable to involve myself directly in a case before the court due to the statutory independence of the Child and Family Agency. Regarding whether there is a category of cases or we are just dealing with one or two, the Deputy seems to suggest there are a wider range of cases so I am happy to talk to him afterwards about this to get a better understanding …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 70 together. Affordable, accessible, high-quality and sustainable early learning and childcare, ELC, is a key priority for the Government. I have taken numerous actions to support the sustainability of all services, including the introduction of supply-side funding through core funding, as well as the continued increase in investment in the sector, with expenditure to exceed €1 billion by 2023. Core funding, with a budget of €259 million in its first year, significantly incre…

Work on the advancement of the concept of a childcare agency is ongoing in my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, there was a Government decision in 2021 to proceed on that and consider the impact on various other settings in the sector. That is a big change and we are undertaking the groundwork with the various existing parts of the sector. A unit in my Department is focused on that project. I would very much like to broaden out AIM past the two years of ECCE. AIM has been a very good programme. Obviously, th…

I take the point about the level of inspection to which this sector is subject. Given we are dealing with our most vulnerable and youngest citizens, it is appropriate our standards are high and inspected. Nevertheless, it is an issue I hear about in my constituency from childcare providers. In the context of the work we are doing to look at the overall architecture of the sector and the idea of a childcare agency, there is the opportunity to consider issues such as the multiplicity of inspection points rather than …

I thank the Senator for raising this really important issue. I did want the opportunity to speak to it myself. In my follow-up at the end, I will come back to some of the recent incidents. In the last 12 months, however, we have seen the largest humanitarian effort made in the history of the State. Since the start of last year, more than 85,000 people have arrived in Ireland fleeing war and persecution. In these difficult circumstances, Ireland has provided shelter and security. This is something we can be proud of…

It is important that we call out these recent incidents. People are entitled to protest and to have a different view from the Government's. This is absolutely fair and this happens. It is really important, though, to call out several recent incidents. Senator Ward referred to an attack on migrants in Ashtown, which was fuelled by lies put on social media regarding someone having been the victim of an assault. In recent days, we have also seen a building in Dublin set on fire. Again, this was as a result of lies put…

I will look through the amendments as they come up.

I will respond to the amendments first and then speak to some of the wider points. The Bill as it currently stands provides for a review of the operation of the scheme under section 42. The intention is that two reviews will be conducted on the scheme. The first is an interim one that will commence two years after the second anniversary of the establishment day, and the other will be commenced after the completion of the scheme. Section 12 also provides that the chief deciding officer shall prepare an annual report…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. As I said previously, I fully understand there are survivors, including those joining us today, who are not happy with the determinations made regarding the ambit of this scheme. The Government has made the point that during the engagement we had, when we spoke to survivors, which was referenced by Deputies, and when they gave their accounts of what they wanted to see in terms of the State's response, as I said previously, each person's account and recognition of what t…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 6, to delete lines 2 to 7 and substitute the following: “ “applicant” means— (a) subject to paragraph (b) , a person who makes an application in accordance with section 19 , or (b) in the case of an application to which section 36 or 37(2) applies, or proceeded with under section 38 , the person on whose behalf or for the benefit of whose estate the application is made;”. The amendments in this grouping relate to the definition of "applicant" and the treatment of applications which a…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 6, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “ “dissolution day” means the day appointed under section 13;”. On Committee Stage I outlined my intention to bring forward amendments to provide for the office to be formally dissolved and for any residual functions of the chief deciding officer to be transferred to the Minister. New sections covered by amendments Nos. 15 to 19, inclusive, provide for the dissolution of the office of the chief deciding officer following the cessat…

In response to Deputy Funchion’s question, the establishment and duration of the scheme is set out under sections 5 and 6. On the duration of the scheme, it states that, subject to subsection (2), the scheme shall cease to operate on the following date, in the Act referred to as the "cessation date", which will either be the date that is the fifth anniversary of the establishment day, or such date that the Minister may, by order, specify that is earlier than that date. There is provision for a cessation date for th…