Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
787. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the governance, compliance, and enforcement framework applying to private providers contracted to supply accommodation for international protection applicants, including the number of providers found to be non-compliant since 2022, the total contract value involved, and the sanctions applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9385/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is taking action across all aspects of the international protection accommodation system to improve value for money, strengthen governance and compliance, and renegotiate contracts with providers.
All 311 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres are subject to routine inspections and compliance checks, either by Department officials, by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), or through IPAS-commissioned inspections. These inspections are fully transparent and published online regularly.
The European Communities (Reception Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 commenced in early 2024 and provide for HIQA to conduct inspections of certain accommodation centres contracted by the Department.
48 IPAS accommodation centres were inspected by HIQA in 2024, in 2025, 31 reports for IPAS accommodation centres inspection reports have been published. Inspection reports by HIQA can be viewed on www.hiqa.ie. These centres accommodate approximately 6,500 residents.
www.hiqa.ie/reports-and-publications/inspection-reports
In addition to HIQA's inspections of permanent centres, IPAS carries out inspections of emergency accommodation centres. These centres are primarily those who were brought into operation during a significant surge in applications from 2022 to 2024.
There has been a significant increase in compliance checks and inspections, with over 420 inspections completed in 2025, compared to 268 in the previous year.
Inspections covered 291 separate properties and related to centres that accommodate approximately 26,500 residents. 229 of these inspections were carried out by Department officials and 191 by an inspector commissioned by the Department.
Where any centre has areas of partial or non-compliance identified during an inspection,?a bespoke compliance plan is agreed and outlined in the inspection report, noting the specific and time-bound measures which will be taken in order to ensure full compliance with the National Standards.
Inspections where non-compliance is noted can lead to improvement plans or can lead to contracts ending. A total of 22 IPAS contracts ended in 2025. The Department treats contractual information and processes as confidential and commercially sensitive, and therefore cannot share information on the value of these contracts.
Reports of IPAS inspections are available online on gov.ie.
www.gov.ie/en/international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/publications/ipas-inspection-reports/
