Information regarding new asylum seeker accommodation must be shared carefully due to threats and arson, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said.
It comes following sustained criticism in the Dáil of how the Government has consulted with local communities over new arrivals to the area.
There was widespread condemnation of anti-asylum protests in the Dáil on Tuesday during a two-and-a-half-hour Dáil discussion on accommodation needs for new arrivals to Ireland.
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Minister O’Gorman, Justice Minister Simon Harris and a myriad of opposition and Government politicians condemned protests that took place in Santry over the last number of days.
Protesters wearing masks blocked buses attempting to carry asylum seekers into accommodation at the Airways Industrial Estate.
Ireland is currently accommodating 85,000 Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers.
In the Dáil, Minister O’Gorman said that over 145 emergency accommodation centres have been opened since January 2022. Some 49 have been opened this year.
He acknowledged that communication with local communities has not always been “ideal” but that the Government is working in a crisis.
Minister O’Gorman argued that how information is delivered about accommodation has to be handled carefully.
He said: “We have to be honest about the challenges about engaging on issues like this.
“Where information has gone public prematurely, or indeed misinformation about the use of a building, accommodation providers have faced threats and in some cases arson.
“The nature of this crisis means that we do not always get to do the level of engagement we would like.
“The need to get vulnerable people off the streets and into accommodation dictates that moves have to happen faster than a full information campaign can.”
Minister O’Gorman said that the thousands of Irish people have been “warmly embracing” refugees and asylum seekers and “they are the true mark of Irishness”.
Minister Harris confirmed during the statements that the International Protection Office (IPO) has beefed up staff and has increased the number of decisions it has made on asylum applications. Some 93 new staff members have been hired this year.
He said: “The new process has allowed applicants from safe countries of origin to receive a first instance decision in less than three months.
“Almost 5,000 first instance decisions were made by the IPO in 2022, a higher number than any annual number of applications over the past five years.
“This year, to end April, almost 2,500 first instance decisions were made by the IPO, increasing even further the rate of decisions being made year on year.”
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, meanwhile, said that a refurbishment programme is underway in his department and 59 buildings “are at various stages of progression”. This would bring 3,000 beds into the system.
However, he said refurbishing old buildings is “not always straightforward” and work has officially started in just 16.
A campaign to acquire vacant homes has resulted in 980 properties for 3,000 Ukrainian refugees.
There was some criticism in the Dáil of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’ remarks that the Gardaí are policing protests with a “long view”.
Labour’s Duncan Smith said: “I draw the line when it comes to blockading accommodation centres. There is no long game that has to be played there.
“The guards should have a zero tolerance approach to that and should be ending that as soon as that happens.
“There is no way the guards should be playing a long game in light of that and I don't accept what the Commissioner has said.”
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government had failed to acknowledge what it had done “wrong”. This included communication and the failure to put services in place, such as doctors.
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