Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman has confirmed to Independent TD Carol Nolan that his Department has published a Request for Tenders relating to the provision of the IPAS Vulnerability Assessment Programme that was formally suspended in March 2024. It had been in operation sinceDecember 2020.
The total value of the 48 month contract for the winning provider amounts to €6 million.
A summary of the contract reveals the services provided under the contract will comprise: Completion of an assessment of vulnerability for all applicants for international protection in Ireland within one week of application date. Assessment service to commence operation in Q3 2024. Completion of an assessment of vulnerability for all persons on a waiting list of 800 persons by end Q4 2024.
As Gript has previously reported, the Vulnerability Assessment Programme was put in place to assist an applicant who required additional services in the event that they were previously subjected to torture, rape, or other form of serious psychological, physical or sexual violence (female genital mutilation) or whether the applicant was a person with a serious mental health problem, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
However, IPAS said the ongoing emergency situation with respect to accommodation availability for single male applicants contributed to the suspension, as this placed further pressure on IPAS resources, including its capacity to conduct vulnerability assessments.
In his reply to Deputy Nolan, minister O’Gorman acknowledged the significant increase in numbers of arrivals and constraints on available accommodation across the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS).
As a result, he says, a decision was made to suspend the programme and to seek to procure an external contractor to manage it.
The minister further noted that following the suspension, resources were redirected to support operations across the Resident Welfare Team and IPAS overall, including to conduct triage of newly arrived single male applicants and identify those with very high needs requiring priority for accommodation when available.
The Request for Tender was published on eTenders.gov.ie with a closing date of 23 May 2024.