Department and minister 'left on their own' to arrange asylum seeker accommodation

Minister Roderic O’Gorman admitted that the current system in place is “not working”. File photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

A clear lack of departmental co-ordination and a lack of priority at government level has left the Department of Integration and Minister Roderic O'Gorman "on their own" in their efforts to accommodate international protection applicants.

That is according to Dr Catherine Day who chaired the advisory group on direct provision prior to the drafting of the White Paper to end the much-criticised system.

She was speaking at a Children’s Rights Alliance conference on the implementation of the white paper to end direct provision when she said much more could be achieved much faster if there was a “normal” level of co-ordination between government departments.

“The reality is that Minister O’Gorman and his officials are left on their own to cope with a situation that is overwhelming them,” she said adding that meeting Ireland’s legal and moral obligations is a cross-government responsibility.

Dr Day said the actual number of asylum seekers in Ireland is relatively very small, adding that the State can accommodate them, “if we choose to do it”.

She spoke of the importance of moving away from the reliance on private accommodation and called for emergency powers to be used by the government to rapidly build the six reception centres set out in the white paper.

Speaking after Dr Day, and as it was announced that the department will not be able to provide accommodation to all asylum seekers from Monday, Minister Roderic O’Gorman admitted that the current system in place is “not working”.

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“The political system has to show a real bravery here because this system is not working and if we don't begin the process of making very significant changes, it is going to do, I believe, lasting damage,” Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said leaving some people unaccommodated as well as the use of tents for about 600 people is not something he is comfortable with.

“It is not something that I can stand over—the fact that we're not able to accommodate everybody—but it is a consequence of the extraordinary challenge that the State, and in particular my department, has faced over the last 20 months,” he said.

More than ever, he said, it is clear that the current system in place for receiving and accommodating those seeking international protection “is not meeting the challenge before it”.

Despite Ireland now having a normal level of migration, on par with the EU average per capita, Mr O’Gorman said his department is working “within the confines of a system that was created for an entirely different era”.