Minister Roderic O’Gorman has confirmed that his Department has begun working with the Housing Agency to acquire the accommodation that will be needed to house International Protection applicants in the community after what he describes as their initial “four-month orientation programme.”
The Minister’s Department has also begun to draw up the “integration and support programme that will enable international protection applicants to live independently in the community.”
Both Minister O’Gorman, and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, have expressed their desire to have the State Housing Agency provide own-door accommodation to asylum seekers after only 4 months of being in the country.
This has attracted some criticism as the housing crisis intensifies in Ireland.
It has previously been reported that 90% of those presenting for asylum are eventually refused residency here. Many come from countries without serious conflict and are, in fact, economic migrants.
Minister O’Gorman made his remarks as part of a statement announcing the appointment of a three-person “independent External Advisory group” to monitor the implementation of the White Paper to End Direct Provision that the Minister published last February.
The advisory group’s members are:
Catherine Day, former Secretary General of the European Commission and Chair of the Advisory Group on the Provision of Support including Accommodation to Persons in the International Protection Process;
David Donoghue, retired diplomat and former Ambassador to the United Nations;
Lorcan Sirr, housing policy expert and board member of the Irish Refugee Council.
Minister O’Gorman further noted that the External Advisory Group will play an important role in the reforms government are enacting to bring an end to Direct Provision and replace it with a new system grounded in human rights and “respect for autonomy.”
The Advisory Group will independently monitor progress on the implementation of the new system. It will also draw up periodic reports on how the reforms are progressing and highlight any concerns.
These reports are expected to be published Department’s website in order to provide stakeholders and the public with “an independent assessment of the reform process.”