All direct provision centres in this Country will close in the next four years – abolishing a system set up in 1999.
In a white paper published today, the Department of Equality says the current system will come to an end in 2024.
From then, asylum-seekers will stay in a reception centre for a maximum of four months, before getting housed in the community.
The long-awaited White Paper on ending the controversial direct provision system for housing asylum seekers, originally due to go before the Cabinet by the end of 2020, will be published later this afternoon.
There has been strong opposition to Direct Provision Centres in many areas including the north west at different times over the past twenty years.
A report by a Government expert group published in October recommended moving away from congregated-living centres to an “own-door” accommodation system. The programme for Government commits to ending direct provision within the lifetime of this Dáil.
Minister for Equality, Roderic O’Gorman, says the new arrangement will be fully operational by December 2024.
