Departmental Programmes

An annual, itemised cost of the (suspended) Vulnerability Assessment Pilot Programme has not been calculated but it was part of the overall budget of the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS). The programme was an element of the overall work of the Resident Welfare Team IPAS. It was managed primarily by a Higher Executive Officer, who was responsible for a team of four Assessment Officers at Executive Officer level and a Clerical Officer. Further assessments were conducted by a number of Social Work Team Leaders over the two year period. While the programme was the main function of the Executive Officers and Clerical Officer during this period, the Higher Executive Officer and Social Workers carried out a number of additional functions within IPAS throughout the two year period.

The significant increase in numbers of arrivals and constraints on available accommodation across the IPAS portfolio placed extreme pressure on IPAS resources, including the Vulnerability Assessment Programme. As a result, a decision was made to suspend the programme and to seek to procure an external contractor to manage it. Following the suspension, resources were redirected to support operations across the Resident Welfare Team and IPAS overall. Support remains available for International Protection Applicants in IPAS accommodation centres through a number of channels.

The programme was formally suspended in March 2024 and the decision was communicated along with a suite of information to all of those queued for assessment, IPAS accommodation managers, NGO partners, all relevant stakeholders and the Department’s website at (www.gov.ie/en/publication/58397-resident-welfare/#suspension-of-the-vulnerability-assessment-pilot-programme). A Request for Tender was published on eTenders.gov.ie on 19 April 2024, with a closing date of 23 May 2024.