International Protection

Wednesday, 7 October 2026

Questions (6)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

6. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department maintains records of security expenditure on a centre-by-centre basis in respect of all International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, accommodation centres; and, if so, the name and location of each centre, the security provider engaged, and the total amount spent on security services at each centre for each of the past five years and to date in 2026, in tabular form. [70296/26]

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Oral answers (8 contributions)

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Last week, we learned that the Minister of State's Department paid out about €100 million on IPAS contracts that were never used. I put in a parliamentary question recently, the reply to which showed that the Department had paid about €2.6 million for security for unoccupied State-owned IPAS centres. This money was spent on empty IPAS centres. At the time, I also asked how much we were spending on other IPAS centres and the reply said that the Department did not have that information. When will the Government stop incinerating tax payers' money?

Deputy Colm Brophy

I thank the Deputy. The State is currently providing accommodation at 297 IPAS accommodation centres around the country, located in every county, in a combination of commercially contracted and State-owned accommodation centres. I clarify for the Deputy that in all IPAS operating accommodation centres, whether they are commercially provided or State owned, the centre management and providers are responsible for day-to-day operational arrangements on the site, including staffing, catering, health and safety, utilities and security arrangements.

Security costs and service provision for commercially contracted centres are included in the overall contracted rate with the service provider, and all contracts negotiated now provide for an all-inclusive rate that covers all services on the site, including security. Security for operating State-owned IPAS centres is also provided as part of each site's facilities management contract. As such, my Department does not hold details of individual security contracts and service providers and does not procure or pay for these services directly.

When my Department agrees a contract for accommodation management services at a property, there are specific requirements across a range of dimensions that must be met by the provider. In terms of security, these include security to be provided on a 24-hour basis, the provision of CCTV and compliance with the licensing requirements of the Private Security Authority, PSA.

All IPAS accommodation centres are subject to oversight arrangements through the Department's centre management and compliance team and inspected by HIQA, departmental officials or external inspectors commissioned by the Department. The inspections and oversight arrangements examine the quality of the accommodation services and also whether centres are fulfilling their contractual obligations.

Security is also provided at two State-owned sites that were used as IPAS accommodation. This security was provided because of criminal damage caused at those locations on previous occasions. I know that this data has been supplied to the Deputy.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

I do not believe that that answer is good enough, given the current environment and the name the Government has for wasting money. While security is lumped in with the overall contracts for these individual IPAS centres, it is important that the Chamber hear what level of funding is going towards the specific objective of security. What is even the average component cost for security in these contracts? If the Government cannot measure how much this is costing, how can it manage this? No private business across the country would shrug its shoulders and say it did not know if asked how much does this component or element of the process cost. It is really important that the Department find out the security component of each contract so as to be able to work it out for all of the IPAS centres and give a total figure, as well as working out an average figure. It is not good enough to say we do not know how much it is costing.

Deputy Colm Brophy

I will repeat to the Deputy that we enter into a contract, and we have been going through a process of renewing all of these contracts and delivering really substantive savings to the taxpayer by ensuring that the rate card for IPAS centres and the cost to the State of providing them have been substantially reduced. As part of that, we sign a contract with service providers to provide an inclusive service to the State for IPAS centres. The service centre must be provided for within the obligations that the provider signed up to in the contract, including a comprehensive, wraparound package of services involving everything from welfare needs, food needs, requirement needs and accommodation needs to security needs. It is a single package that is provided to the State. I am very pleased to say it is provided at an increasingly lower rate because of the excellent work that the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, and I have ensured is taking place to reduce the overall cost of providing IPAS accommodation to the taxpayer.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

How does the Minister of State know it is a lower rate? He cannot even compare and contrast it with security costs in the private sector. He does not have a specific number for security. He does not have an estimated number for security. He does not have an average across all of these. Basically, the Minister of State is saying he is getting a better figure on the basis of saying he does not know how much this costs. This country is sick to death of TDs asking questions about costs and the Government saying it does not know. It is not good enough.

Last week, I found out that there were 240 bathrooms in the national children's hospital that needed to be redone because they were not done to the right level. We found out that €100 million had been paid for contracts that were never exercised. There was €2.6 million for security for IPAS centres that are empty at the moment. Hundreds of millions of euro are being wasted in this country that could be spent on increasing the income of individuals, increasing public services to individuals or increasing the infrastructure in this country.

The level of waste is not tolerable. I have put this question in twice and the answer today from the Government that it does not know how much this costs is wrong.

Deputy Colm Brophy

I am sorry, because I genuinely believe that, underneath it all, the Deputy is able to comprehend things and work them out. It is fairly straightforward. If something is costing the State less to provide at the moment than it did in the past, we are having a saving. Not even in the Deputy's world of make up can he turn that on its head and say it is costing us more.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The Minister of State does not-----

Deputy Colm Brophy

Sorry, but I did not interrupt the Deputy. The situation is straightforward. We have a wraparound contract. We have a rate card with service providers. They provide a range of services to us. Included in that is security. What has been taking place from the Department's point of view, led by the Minister and me, is meant to ensure that we are saving the taxpayer money year on year on this, and the figures clearly show that that is the case. We are now paying less for IPAS. We are paying less on each of the contracts. We have negotiated successfully a reduction in those figures. That means, right across the board, we are saving the taxpayers money so that we can use it in a way that we believe is for the best purposes. That was what the Government was doing yesterday in its budget.