Minister pledges 'immediate improvements' in direct provision system

An extra €45m in funding has been pledged to direct provision, despite the government committing to phasing it out, confirmed Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth, Roderic O Gorman. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The Minister for Children has outlined plans to bring "immediate improvements" to the direct provision system, with an increase of €45m in funding in Budget 2021 even though the government has committed to phasing it out. 

Speaking at a Budget briefing, Minister Roderic O'Gorman also said he had stressed the importance of additional funding for children and families affected by domestic violence and the importance of youth work, particularly during the pandemic. 

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth announced extra funding of €121m, bringing projected expenditure by his Department to more than €1.9bn for 2021.

That includes an extra €61m for Tusla, an extra €45m for direct provision, resulting in a total DP budget of €225m, and an extra €5m for youth services. 

The €638m for childcare means no additional funding for the sector compared with 2020, with the Minister stating that he wanted to direct funding in the coming years in a way that would reduce fees for parents while increasing pay for professionals in the sector. 

On direct provision, the minister said the report of the review group examining Ireland's accommodation for people in the international protection process is due to be published next week. He said this will inform a white paper which will be put together by his department that will set out the new vision for the International Protection System.

He said he wanted to see more immediate improvements, such as a proper independent inspection process in the medium term.

"We have been very clear we are going to end direct provision but it is going to take time," he said, adding that the increased allocations in the Budget were "absolutely necessary".

He said work was already underway on the white paper but added: "We have to pay for the existing system as long as it is there, and fund the new system".

According to the department, the short-term focus will be on reducing the proportion of people, particularly families, who are accommodated in emergency accommodation and on increasing the proportion of own-door or self-catering options available, particularly to families.

The increased budget will also allow for direct measures to address the risks of Covid-19 on those asylum seekers availing of State-provided accommodation.

As for domestic violence supports, he said pre-Budget discussions with Tusla highlighted the need for greater investment and while a precise amount was not ring-fenced, the minister said he was assured that Tusla would focus on it and on unaccompanied minors.

The budget provision also includes €5m for Traveller and Roma initiatives, an increase of €1m, and a total of €6m for decision support services (DSS), an increase of €2m.

As for the extra funding for youth services, now totalling €70m, he said: "We know from research that where young people were engaged with youth organisations, they fared better during the pandemic."