Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 December 2025
438. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people living in IPAS accommodation with status, broken down by county, and household size, including number of adults and children per household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68026/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra439. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of households with status, including the number of children who have been transferred to alternative IPAS accommodation, since 4 July 2025; if his Department or the International Protection Accommodation Service has engaged with local authorities on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68027/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 438 and 439 together.
The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in nearly 320 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country, over 9,500 of whom are children.
At the moment, almost 5,000 people in IPAS accommodation have a legal status allowing them to remain in Ireland. This is not a static number of people; approximately 11,000 people with status have moved out of IPAS accommodation since 2022, and approximately 3,500 this year to date.
The table below sets out the number of people with legal status, broken down by local authority as of October 2025. The breakdown of data requested with respect to household size is not readily available.
|
Local Authority |
Total with Status |
|
Carlow County Council |
65 |
|
Cavan County Council |
16 |
|
Clare County Council |
215 |
|
Cork City Council |
112 |
|
Cork County Council |
259 |
|
Donegal County Council |
362 |
|
Dublin City |
436 |
|
Dún Laoghaire/ Rathdown County Council |
105 |
|
Fingal County Council |
336 |
|
Galway City Council |
264 |
|
Galway County Council |
91 |
|
Kerry County Council |
113 |
|
Kildare County Council |
85 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
18 |
|
Laois County Council |
72 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
44 |
|
Limerick City and County Council |
60 |
|
Longford County Council |
23 |
|
Louth County Council |
154 |
|
Mayo County |
404 |
|
Meath County |
147 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
94 |
|
Offaly County Council |
73 |
|
Roscommon County Council |
24 |
|
Sligo County Council |
96 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
504 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
217 |
|
Waterford City and County Council |
123 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
131 |
|
Wexford County Council |
65 |
|
Wicklow County Council |
193 |
|
Total |
4,901 |
In March 2025, 600 families with status over one year were written to, and offered transfer to alternative emergency IPAS accommodation from 4 July 2025. Below is the information requested on these offers and their progress in 2025 to date.
|
- |
Offers sent |
Left IPAS |
Transferred to alternative emergency IPAS centre |
In progress |
|
Families |
600 |
362 |
109 |
129 |
When a person completes their international protection application and receives a positive decision, they have a legal status that allows them to remain in Ireland. This also means they gain access to the full range of housing supports available to all Irish residents, which are not available to people going through the application process.
To help people move from IPAS accommodation to find housing options in the community, IPAS has a team that works in collaboration with DePaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Local Authorities.
There is a need for people with status to transition living independently in our communities, improving their integration into our society while also creating space within IPAS accommodation for newer arrivals.
It is essential that IPAS maintains enough accommodation to meet the needs of new applicants, who have a legal entitlement to IPAS accommodation, do not have immediate access to the labour market, and do not have access to standard housing benefits or standard social welfare entitlements.
