It will be replaced with an international protection system.
All Direct Provision centres all expected to close by the end of 2024.
The government this week announced plans to replace the existing and widely criticised asylum seeking system with a new two phase approach.
Published on Thursday, the White Paper outlines a plan involving six new state owned not-for-profit reception and integration centres, where those seeking asylum will stay for four months to integrate into local communities.
According to the plan, applicants will then be moved to their own-door or self contained apartment or house via urban renewal and community hosting schemes. Adults will be encouraged to seek paid work six months after arriving in Ireland. Applicants will pay a means-tested rent in their accommodation.
Health and vulnerability assessments will be carried out to determine the services and accommodation best suited to individual applicants. According to the plan, a particular focus will be placed on the children of asylum seekers.
The government announced plans to scrap the current Direct Provision system last year. This came after years of criticism from campaigners, residents, and international NGOs who dubbed the system inhumane and a violation of human rights.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council called the move “a very important moment.”
“There is a wealth of reports about what is wrong with the system,” he said. “I think this White Paper does give us a roadmap to ending it and replacing it. And we look forward to implementation.
“What it doesn’t do is take forward a recommendation made by the Catherine Day Advisory Group that was published in October, that people who have been in the system for more than two years would be offered permission to remain.
“We believe that is a crucial device in reducing backlogs in the asylum process.”
