We are storing up trouble by not factoring migrants into housing, health, education, transport and planning policies

Published date23 November 2022
However, our housing, health, education, transport and planning policies still do not count these people in our future planning projections even though they will make their permanent homes in Ireland. By choosing not to include a sizeable number of people in these policies we are storing up problems for the future

The 2021 White Paper on ending direct provision lists a comprehensive set of measures for streamlining our international protection system, integrating those whose applications are accepted and obliging those whose applications are refused to leave Ireland. The vast majority of its recommendations are still valid and are being implemented. Understandably, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered an influx of over 60,000 refugees to Ireland in less than a year and, at the same time, there has been a surge in the number of asylum seekers. These factors have made it increasingly difficult to find accommodation for those with leave to remain and for people seeking asylum.

Together with retired diplomat and former ambassador to the United Nations David Donohgue and housing policy expert and lecturer at Technological University Dublin, Lorcan Sirr, I am part of an external advisory group reporting to Minister Roderic O'Gorman on implementing the White Paper. We have just delivered a short report recommending a series of urgent actions designed to help the State meet its international and EU obligations on international protection. In our view neither the private sector nor NGOs can provide the volume of accommodation needed for new arrivals.

We are recommending that the State use emergency powers and legislation to build the six reception and integration centres proposed in the White Paper on State-owned land (of which 2,000 hectares is zoned for residential use), building two by the end of May 2023 and four more by the end of 2023. These should be built to accommodate 3,000-4,500 people and, in our view, could be delivered relatively quickly using prefab, modular or rapid construction with standard building techniques, as has been done in the Balseskin Reception Centre.

It is important to keep the international protection system moving and to avoid the kind of bottlenecks that have built up in the past. More than 4,600 applicants with leave to remain in Ireland are still living in direct provision because of the shortage of suitable accommodation. This puts further pressure on finding alternative accommodation for new arrivals. We are...

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