Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
177. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which his Department ensures there is value-for-money for the State in IPAS contracts given the rising costs and continuing capacity issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6179/26]
View answerMy Department is taking action across all aspects of the international protection accommodation system to move toward greater State-owned provision, to improve value for money, and to strengthen governance, compliance, and integration supports.
Following unprecedented increases in applications for international protection from 2022 to 2024, a crisis response was required from the State to source accommodation at pace, and under pressure. Much of the accommodation now in use within the IPAS system was sourced during this period and under these circumstances, parallel to the State also accommodating a huge number of people fleeing the war in Ukraine, and ongoing pressures in the housing market.
Applications for international protection have reduced during 2025, though they remain high compared to pre-2022 levels.
This reduction has allowed department officials to put in place greater controls over the IPAS accommodation portfolio after the unprecedented increase in arrivals in recent years, which necessitated a crisis response to source accommodation.
A range of updated systems and procedures have been put in place and are already having an impact. IPAS has put improved processes in place for appraisal, validation, contracting and payments.
The introduction of a new rate card model is driving costs down for new and renewed contracts, and I am pleased to note this has already saved approximately €77 million in 2025. This reform within the accommodation system has laid the basis for continued process improvement and costs savings in 2026.
There has been a significant increase in compliance checks and inspections, with over 420 inspections completed in 2025, compared to 268 in the previous year. Inspections where non-compliance is noted can lead to improvement plans, or can lead to contracts ending. A total of 22 IPAS contracts ended in 2025.
My Department is developing more State-owned accommodation from a range of sources, including using State-owned sites for temporary accommodation. State-owned accommodation offers significantly improved value for money compared to commercial accommodation in this sector.
A key milestone was the State's purchase of Citywest in 2025, which has increased the overall State-owned bed numbers from 900 spaces in early 2024 to over 4,000 today.
Developing more State-owned options will allow us to move away from the current degree of reliance on commercial provision. While commissioning emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be necessary in the short to medium term, it is being contracted on a short-term basis, which will enable the State to decommission this capacity with agility as contracts expire or demand fluctuates.
An overall reform of the international protection system is underway that is already working to speed up the processing of applications and should reduce the need for constant growth in the accommodation system, such as was experienced in recent years.
