State’s homeless and refugee agencies compete for housing
THE Dáil spending watchdog will investigate how State agencies are ‘gazumping’ each other in a competition to secure scarce accommodation for asylum seekers and the homeless, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) vicechair Catherine Murphy spoke out after it had emerged that the operators of a Kildare hotel – paid a massive €10.8m in one year alone to house asylum seekers – have signed a new contract with a homeless agency.
Celbridge Manor Hotel did not renew its contract with the Department of Integration, opting for a new deal with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive instead.
As a result, international protection applicants staying at the ivy-clad Georgian hotel are being moved on to make room for homeless families who are waiting on Dublin City Council’s housing list.
Deputy Murphy said the PAC will question officials from Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s department about how State agencies have been ‘gazumping’ each other for scarce accommodation at a hearing scheduled for April 18. The Social Democrats TD told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘It [State agencies competing against each other] will be one of the issues that will be on my list to ask.’
Referring to the case of Celbridge Manor Hotel – which had previously been a popular wedding venue in her Kildare North constituency – Ms Murphy said: ‘The really shameful thing here is that a very large hotel like this is required for homeless accommodation.
‘It’s not the shortage of money… it’s really unsatisfactory
particularly from the point of view of children. There will be substantial damage done to children who have experienced homelessness.’
And she added: ‘The amount of money to keep people out of homelessness certainly could be spent on more permanent solutions and that’s what we need to work towards so that we start seeing
those figures coming down.’
Figures released this week confirmed a record 13,841 people are now living in hostels and other temporary accommodation, 4,127 of whom are children.
In response to queries from the MoS, the Department of Children confirmed it could no longer use Celbridge Manor to house refugees because the hotel decided not to renew a contract worth almost €11m. The Department acknowledged that it will be difficult to find alternative accommodation.
The Department publishes all payments over €20,000 for providing Ukrainians and asylum seekers with accommodation.
But a spokesman said this weekend: ‘The Department of Children, Equality, Disability,
Integration and Youth does not comment on individual contracts, which are deemed commercially sensitive.
‘The contract for Celbridge Manor will come to an end in the coming weeks as the provider has decided not to renew their contract with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
‘At this time, it is not possible to confirm where the residents will be dispersed to due to the ongoing shortage of accommodation in the IPAS [International Protection Accommodation Services] accommodation portfolio due to the unprecedented numbers arriving seeking accommodation whilst their applications for international protection are processed,’ the spokesman added.
Dublin Homeless Regional Executive is part of Dublin City Council, which confirmed its agency signed a contract with the Celbridge Manor Hotel last April.
It said the contract was awarded after a tendering process, but declined to say how much it will cost to relocate homeless families to the 66-bedroom hotel in the Co. Kildare commuter town.
According to documents lodged with the national property registration office, the hotel is owned by Country Manor Hotels Limited. Its directors are Wexford-based accountant Daire Turner and Co. Louth businessman Ronan Mallon.
The company did not respond to queries this weekend.