Government seeks accommodation for 500 refugees

Irish Times

2 days ago

The Government is trying to find accommodation for 500 refugees who may need to come to Ireland under an international resettlement programme.
The
Department of Justice
has put out a €61 million tender for accommodation for people who come to Ireland from countries such as
Lebanon
and
Jordan
under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).
The State set up the programme in 2015 to respond to the migration crisis in central and southern Europe. People who come to Ireland under the IRPP are given refugee status before they arrive, so it is distinct from the international protection programme.
People arriving in Ireland under the programme are described as being recognised by the
United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention. More than 4,500 refugees have come to Ireland since it was set up, with most coming under a programme led by the UNHCR.
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A tender published this week revealed the Government is looking for accommodation 'for a minimum of 500 people, with a potential requirement for additional numbers depending on further reception of persons arriving in Ireland under IRPP'. The Department of Justice says it has advertised the tender to support the IRRP 'over the coming years.'
These new 'reception and orientation' centres would provide a place refugees can stay while they are given access to health and social welfare services. Child refugees are given access to local primary or secondary schools.
'This period of orientation provides refugees with an opportunity to access necessary basic services in advance of their resettlement within the wider community' the tender document said.
The Government warned potential bidders that the accommodation centres should be within 1km of local amenities such as shops, schools, GP clinics, hospitals and banks. It saidany bidder whose accommodation was further than 1km from such amenities should offer 'a road transport solution'.
Accommodation providers would also be required to provide management catering, housekeeping, maintenance and security services.
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Potential contractors were also 'reminded' that accommodation centres must comply with existing housing laws 'with regards to living space per person'. A number of inspections carried out last year on private accommodation centres who have been contracted to accommodate international protection applicants found rooms that were overcrowded under housing regulations.
The new centres would be based on similar existing centres. The Department of Justice says there are currently three reception and orientation centres; Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon; Clonea Strand, Co Waterford; and Mosney Village, Co Meath. These have a combined capacity of 545 people.
The department is organising a 'virtual' site visit to that centre for those interested in bidding for the new project.
Due to privacy concerns for refugees and child welfare issues, the new refugee accommodation centres will have to be exclusively used for IRPP.
'If the premises has additional bedrooms or businesses beyond the contracting authority's required specification these can only be open to the public where it is guaranteed that no space will be shared between the public and IRPP residents, and that there will be no public access to the spaces reserved for the exclusive use of IRPP residents,' tender documents said.
Ireland fell behind on commitments it had made in 2020-2023 to bring 2,900 refugees here, many of whom were Syrian refugees resident in Jordan and Lebanon. The government had blamed this on the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the arrival of refugees from Afghanistan in 2021.
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Ireland has since told the European Commission that in 2024-2025 it would bring 800 refugees under the UNHCR resettlement process from Lebanon and Jordan, with another 100 'humanitarian admissions' from Afghanistan.
Refugees are brought to Ireland under IRPP after a joint IRPP/An Garda Síochána 'selection mission' in their first country of asylum. Between January and May this year, 83 Syrian refugees and six Afghan refugees were brought to Ireland under the programme. In 2024 the figures were 199 and 77 respectively.