The International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) is a unit of the Irish
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It is responsible for the provision of accommodation and related services to people in the international protection process, being those applying for
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. status or
subsidiary protection Subsidiary protection is international protection for persons seeking asylum who do not qualify as refugees. In European law, Directive 2004/83/EC defines the minimum standards for qualifying for subsidiary protection status. The Directive was late ...
.
IPAS is responsible for coordinating the provision of services to both asylum seekers and refugees, coordinating the implementation of integration policy for all refugees and persons granted leave to remain in the Republic of Ireland and responding to crisis situations which may result in large numbers of refugees arriving in the country.
The Directorate for Asylum Support Services (DASS) was established in November 1999 as a unit of the
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It introduced a system of
direct provision for asylum applicants, providing residential accommodation and ancillary services to asylum seekers while they await the outcome of their applications for asylum. To meet this requirement, various private companies provide these services at several accommodation centres on the country, the largest being at
Mosney. The system has been criticised by human rights organisations as illegal, inhuman and degrading.
The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) was established by the
Irish government on 2 April 2001 as a merger of the DASS and the Refugee Agency (which was part of the
Department of Foreign Affairs).
After a government decision of 2 March 2004, RIA was assigned responsibility for supporting the repatriation, on an ongoing basis for the
Department of Social Protection, of nationals of the ten new
EU member states (
Cyprus,
Czech Republic,
Estonia,
Hungary,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Malta,
Poland,
Slovakia,
Slovenia) who might fail the Habitual Residency Condition attaching to Social Assistance Payments.
In December 2019, RIA was divided into the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) and the International Protection Procurement Services (IPPS). In October 2020, IPAS and IPPS were transferred from the Department of Justice to the restructured
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
References
External links
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Right of asylum in the Republic of Ireland
Government agencies of the Republic of Ireland
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth