Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
786. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to set out the Department’s current projections for the annual cost of accommodating international protection applicants over the next five years, including any internal estimates indicating expenditure of up to €1.5 billion per annum referenced in briefing material prepared for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9382/26]
View answer788. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to detail the State’s reliance on emergency accommodation for international protection applicants, including the average nightly cost, average duration of stays, and total annual expenditure on emergency accommodation for each year since 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9386/26]
View answer792. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the total number of private accommodation providers contracted by the International Protection Accommodation Service in each year from 2022 to date; the aggregate annual expenditure paid to private accommodation providers in each of those years; the number of providers accounting for the highest proportion of that expenditure; the average nightly cost per person paid under such contracts; the proportion of contracts entered into without an open competitive tender process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9401/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 786, 788 and 792 together.
Providing reception conditions to people who are applying for international protection is part of EU and Irish law. The State is currently accommodating over 33,000 people seeking international protection in 311 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country.
The allocation for IPAS accommodation and supports for 2025 was €1.27 billion and this has reduced to €1.1 billion for accommodation and supports in 2026. Since this service is demand-led, forecasts for the next five years are not available.
Ireland has opted in to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact which is to be implemented from mid-2026. Reforming and speeding up processing of applications should also serve over time to reduce the scale of the demand for international protection accommodation.
The Department is working to increase the amount of State-owned international protection accommodation and creating a more stable and sustainable accommodation system. As developing these more sustainable state-owned accommodation system options will take time, the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be a feature in the short to medium term.
The table below outlines the total spend on IPAS accommodation in commercial and State-owned accommodation since 2021. Please note the 2025 figure is provisional pending completion of the 2025 Appropriation Accounts.
Table 1: Total spend on IPAS accommodation in commercial and State-owned accommodation since 2021.
|
2021 |
€190,856,000 |
|
2022 |
€356,554,000 |
|
2023 |
€651,756,000 |
|
2024 |
€1.005 billion |
|
2025 |
€1.2 billion |
The costs outlined above pertain to accommodation for international protection applicants, including transport, facilities management, utilities and other related costs.
The Department publishes figures detailing the numbers of residents and centres, with a breakdown of numbers of emergency accommodation centres, on a regular basis and these reports are available here: Statistics 2004 to 2026
In December 2021, there were 25 Emergency Accommodation Centres, and in January 2026, there are 259 centres. The growth in accommodation centres since 2021 is directly related to the cross-Government response to the unprecedented increase in applications for international protection during this period.
The table below outlines the average nightly contracted accommodation cost, since 2021. Contracted costs include accommodation and associated costs like facilities management, food, security, utilities etc.
Since September 2025, the average nightly contracted accommodation cost is now calculated across 311 accommodation centres, including State-owned and commercial accommodation. The average contracted nightly cost allows for fluctuations in the number of residents over time and also for varying types of accommodation configuration by centre and by contract.
Table 2: The average nightly contracted rate per provider, since 2021.
|
2021 |
€72 |
|
2022 |
€50 |
|
2023 |
€68 |
|
2024 |
€84 |
|
2025 |
€71 |
|
February 2026 |
€71 |
The average length of stay in IPAS Accommodation across all 311 centres and all residents is currently 24.8 months. Not all international protection applicants are resident in IPAS accommodation and the length of time spent by a person resident in IPAS accommodation will vary depending on the individual circumstances of the person or family's application.
Table 3: The number of IPAS centres at end of each year, since 2022 and the average length of stay in IPAS Accommodation, since 2022.
|
|
The number of IPAS Centres |
The average length of stay in IPAS Accommodation |
|
2022 |
152 |
Not available |
|
2023 |
258 |
19.2 months |
|
2024 |
326 |
20.6 months |
|
2025 |
313 |
24.3 months |
Detailed contractual arrangements in relation to International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres are confidential and commercially sensitive. There is full transparency from the Department in terms of providers receiving payments, with details of all payments over €20,000 and the recipients published quarterly online at Gov.ie here: http://www.gov.ie/en/collection/dfdadb-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-purchase-orders-for-20000-o/
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/collections/department-of-children-equality-disability-integration-and-youth-purchase-orders-for-20000-or-above/
