Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 February 2025
206. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the details of all contracts awarded to a company (details supplied) for the provision of IPAS and/or Ukrainian refugees from 1 January 2019 to 29 January 2025; the date of contract, location of contract, and how many people are covered by the contract; and if contract is renewed and the date of renewal, in tabular form. [3819/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraProviding reception conditions – accommodation and other basic supports – to applicants is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to provide shelter to people fleeing war and persecution in their home country. The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in international protection accommodation, about 9,000 of whom are children with their families.
As you will be aware, extensive efforts are underway, within this Department and as part of a whole-of-Government response, to source and bring into use suitable facilities to provide shelter and safety to international protection applicants.
Details of contracts or contractual arrangements between the Department and external providers are considered commercially sensitive. In order to preserve the Department's negotiating position, the costs paid to providers or the details of contracts are not published, as making this data available to other accommodation providers would not serve the public interest in terms of value for money. As such, I regret my Department cannot provide the information requested in full.
The Public Sector Reform Plan requires that government departments and agencies publish online reports detailing Purchase Orders (PO) relating to payments for goods, services or works procured to a value greater than €20,000. These are published, once per quarter, on gov.ie:
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/dfdadb-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-purchase-orders-for-20000-o/
These reports will provide the Deputy with information about purchase orders relating to both international protection and Ukraine State-supported accommodation from my Department, which I hope is helpful to the Deputy.
