UP to 1,000 new bed spaces are to become available next month for asylum-seekers in hostels, hotels and guest houses around the State.
This accommodation is in addition to other options, such as "flotels" or pavilions, which the Government will soon consider to cater for the 12,000 or more asylum-seekers it expects to arrive this year.
The new accommodation includes the Parnell West Hotel in Dublin's Parnell Square, which was bought by the Department of Justice for £2.5 million. It is also understood the Department is completing deals to lease some 500 beds in two hotels in Co Cork, one in Rosslare, Co Wexford, and hostels in Tralee, Co Kerry, and Co Carlow.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) advertised in the national print media in January for accommodation for asylum-seekers. It was offered more than 2,000 spaces from private landlords but only up to 1,000 were deemed to be suitable.
About a quarter of the new beds are in Dublin. A Department official said the number of bed offers received in response to the advertising campaign was lower than had been expected. The OPW has been inspecting the accommodation on behalf of the Directorate for Asylum-Seeker Services, set up under the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The accommodation is examined by in-house architects and assessed under health and safety regulations.
"We are basically trying to ensure that we come forward with a decent standard of accommodation and, once we identify it, bring it to the Department of Justice to see if they can do a deal with it," said the OPW official.
As part of the Government's "direct provision" programme, asylum-seekers living in this accommodation will be on full board, getting three daily meals. They will receive £15 a week per adult for "extra comforts".
The OPW official said the directorate was conscious of the need to preserve sufficient bed spaces for the summer tourist trade. "The directorate is acutely conscious of this and we have been in touch with various tourist agencies. They [the directorate] have been assured that there is a sufficient pool to meet tourism demands."
Other short-term types of accommodation examined by OPW officials in Norway and the Netherlands include "flotels" and pavilions, which are temporary single-storey structures. Options for medium-term accommodation are prefabricated units and mobile homes. OPW officials also have preliminary plans for permanent accommodation for asylum-seekers.