Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2025
656. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if part of a hotel complex (details supplied) is now a holding and detention centre for those awaiting deportation; if a coherent policy in terms of whether those awaiting deportation at IPAS centres are allowed to roam free or are they locked into a hotel room 24-hours-a-day; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37701/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra657. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if IPAS detainees being held pre-deportation or pending prison transfer can legally be held in hotels (details supplied) given that this is not purely accommodation, rather quasi-detention and likely falls outside the “hotel emergency reception” exemption and would be considered unauthorised development unless retrospective planning permission is granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37702/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra658. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the public consultation on safety and security protocols, or impact assessments that has been completed for deportation order recipients to be accommodated at hotel IPAS centres; what is planned in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37703/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 656 to 658, inclusive, together.
I am fully committed to ensuring that Ireland’s immigration system is robust and rules based. The enforcement aspects of our laws, including deportation orders, are an essential requirement for the system to work effectively and to ensure that there is confidence in the application of our legislation in this area.
The enforcement of deportation orders, and the detention of people prior to their removal, is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau. A person who is the subject of a deportation order may be detained under Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999 for up to 56 days for the purpose of ensuring their deportation from the State. An application to extend this period of detention must be made to the District Court.
The prescribed places of detention for this purpose are contained in the Immigration Act 1999 (Deportation) Regulations 2005 and are: Castlerea Prison, Cloverhill Prison, Cork Prison, Limerick Prison, Midlands Prison, Mountjoy Prison, and Wheatfield Prison, as well as all Garda Síochána stations. In practice, not all of these locations are in regular use for this purpose.
The State is currently leasing the Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre as a transit hub and accommodation centre for Ukrainian citizens and people seeking international protection. Government recently provided approval for the State to purchase the site and continue its use for this purpose.
This site is not a prescribed place of detention under the Immigration Act 1999 (Deportation) Regulations 2005.
While some people currently resident in this facility, or in other IPAS accommodation centres, may be the subject of a deportation order, it is not the case that they are being detained in those locations or those facilities. The purpose of IPAS centres remains to provide accommodation to people who have entered Ireland seeking protection.
