Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Mr. McCarthy is aware, I had to wait for about three months to get these statistics with regard to the number of beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTP, and international protection, IP, applicants broken down by local electoral area, LEA. I do not think they are public. That is not the issue. I believe that information provision and transparency are the Department's friends with regard to much of this stuff. When it comes to the breakdown by local area, which is the reason I asked for it, is that taken into consideration when the Department makes decisions regarding BOTP or IP applicants being placed in the country? For instance, if we look at the local electoral area in Kenmare, it is 3,076 people out of a population of 25,000. If we look at the Killiney-Shankill local electoral area, 157 people are being accommodated. I am very into making sure we look after everyone, but I also think we need to be fair and balanced across the country with geographical spread. With regard to the Department's decision-making - I will get into criteria in the next round - is part of the Department's criteria and decision-making the volume of people already accommodated in an area versus an area which has very few or is it just that we take what we get?