20% OF CITY’S NEW HOMELESS ARE FROM DIRECT PROVISION
THE numbers entering homelessness services from direct provision accounts for 20% of all presentations in Dublin, despite claims by the Taoiseach that the system does not ‘impact significantly’ on emergency accommodation.
Thousands of asylum seekers who have been granted the right to remain in Ireland have stayed in the direct provision system as they can’t find alternative accommodation. The Irish Times reported yesterday that the two most senior civil servants in the Departments of Housing and Integration had clashed over the increasing number of people presenting to homeless services from direct provision, amid fears large numbers would end up sleeping rough.
Yesterday, Leo Varadkar said the Government has not seen the number of people moving out of direct provision ‘impact significantly’ on the availability of emergency accommodation. The Fine Gael leader said it was a situation they need to ‘monitor very closely’.
However, a Department of Housing spokesman told the Irish Daily Mail that local authorities have reported increased presentations to emergency accommodation from individuals leaving direct provision.
He added that data from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) shows that those leaving direct provision ‘now make up a significant proportion of new single presentations to emergency homeless accommodation in the Dublin region’.
In December, refugees amounted to 20% of the new homeless presentation in the capital. Of the 27,000 people in direct provision, just over 6,000 have been granted refugee status and the right to remain, but have not been able to move out of the service. This is up from just over 5,000 with refugee status still residing in direct provision this time last year.
‘What we’re trying to do is to transition them out of direct provision, into alternative accommodation,’ the Taoiseach said. ‘That might be renting a place; if they’re working, they might be able to afford to do that.
‘It might be renting a place with the help of Housing Assistance Payment, it might be, for example, staying with a friend or providing themselves with alternative accommodation, and that’s that process has been under way now for quite a number of months.’ Yesterday, The Irish Times reported that Graham Doyle, secretary general of the Department of Housing, warned the Department of Integration, where Kevin McCarthy is secretary general, that there was a ‘serious risk’ that significant number of asylum seekers would be left sleeping rough after being ordered to leave direct provision. Social Democrats housing spokesman Cian O’Callaghan said Mr Varadkar’s comments show ‘his finger is not on the pulse on this’. He added: ‘He [the Taoiseach] seems to be out of touch with the reality of what’s happening on the ground. ‘The situation is very serious; in my office, I have been dealing with people who, at relatively short notice, have been evicted from direct provision accommodation and have ended up homeless on the streets as a result, which is a horrific situation for anyone to be in. At a Government level, they need to be coordinating on this, not trying to pass the buck between departments.’