Long-term direct provision residents with leave to remain ordered by Government department to vacate accommodation

Long-term direct provision residents who have permission to remain in Ireland have been told the State cannot accommodate them amid the ongoing refugee accommodation crisis, in a move branded “deeply offensive”.

People living in direct provision, but who have been granted leave to remain in the country, were written to last month by the Department of Integration, with more letters planned for the coming weeks, the department said in a statement.

The letters were issued to people with status to remain with the longest period in accommodation centres run by the International Protection and Accommodation Services (IPAS), which is responsible for the Direct Provision system.

Almost 4,500 people are living in direct provision with permission to remain in the country, according to the most recent figures. Charities who work with refugees in this situation say they are “trapped” there by a shortage of rental accommodation.

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The department confirmed that the letters advised people “that IPAS is not in a position to accommodate persons who have received a form of protection in the state on an ongoing basis”.

A spokesman for the department said they “advised that accommodation they are occupying may be assigned to applicants in the protection process who are currently residing in temporary emergency accommodation who urgently need more appropriate accommodation in dedicated IPAS accommodation centres to meet their needs, being newly arrived in Ireland”.

Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin housing spokesman, said the letters were a “deeply offensive move by IPAS”.

“Nobody chooses to live in direct provision,” he said. “For IPAS to try to displace them when they have nowhere else to go is unacceptable. Is the Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman aware of this? Did he sanction it? Either way he must immediately withdraw what amounts to a threat of eviction.”

Transition team

IPAS has a transition team which works with charities to assist residents of direct provision with a status that allows them to remain in the country to exit their state accommodation and access housing options.

Those with status to remain have the same housing entitlements as Irish citizens and can register with a local authority and if required, use the Housing Assistance Payment. They also have access to full social welfare job seekers allowance if they are unemployed.

The Department said that “all of the letters were issued to people who held status for a significant period. It followed ongoing engagement and assistance they have received since they were granted their status. The assistance is available from the IPAS transition team and NGO case workers, if they wish to avail of it”.

The department would not confirm how many people had been sent the letters, only saying that the first of them was sent on September 9th this year and that “this is an ongoing process with more letters to be issued in the coming weeks”.

Since January, over 11,680 people seeking international protection have sought accommodation from the state, with 16,473 people currently in IPAS accommodation, according to figures released this week. This is in addition to the more than 43,300 Ukrainian people who have fled to Ireland.

As of the middle of this month, there were 444 IP applicants in the National Reception Centre at Balseskin, 6,558 in direct provision centres, another 9,169 in temporary accommodation centres and 302 in tented accommodation.

The state has recently restarted deportations, with figues from the Department of Justice showing there are in the region of 12,000 live deporation orders - many of which are historical and relate to people who have left the country but not informed the department.

There have been 16 enforced deportations this year, with another 87 self-deportations. There have been 30 removals under regulations that apply to EU citizens and those with rights of residence in the bloc, and 42 “voluntary returns”. The cost of flights associated with deportations is €147,148, with operational costs in relation to enforced deportation of €152,550.

The cost of facilitating voluntary returns in the first six months of the year was €438,512, which included pre-return counselling, flights, medical supports, escorts and a reintegration grant. The majority of those availing of this service “would have been deemed to be vulnerable individuals”, the Department of Justice said in a statement.