Written Answers Nos. 792-800
793. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the amount spent on the accommodation of persons seeking international protection and refugees in each of the past fifteen years and to date in 2026. [14858/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has at all times endeavoured to provide accommodation and other basic supports to people seeking international protection as is required by law.
From 2022 to 2024, over 45,000 people arrived and applied for international protection, almost matching the total number of applications made during the previous 16 years (44,000). This coincided with the invasion of Ukraine, and the arrival of over 120,000 people to Ireland fleeing that conflict.
The sudden and sustained increase in applications during this period necessitated a period of growth in capacity and costs to the State for this service.
In terms of international protection applicants, significant reform is underway to speed up the processing system, achieve improved value for money for the State and reduce the demand for accommodation. That includes moving away consistently, over time, from the degree of reliance on commercial accommodation and putting in place more facilities on State-owned sites.
As a key milestone, the State has purchased Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre, which has increased State-owned bed numbers from 900 spaces in early 2024 to over 4,000 today.
IPAS is reviewing commercial contracts and driving improvements in standards, governance and compliance. The introduction of a new rate card model is driving down costs for new and renewed contracts, already saving approximately €83 million since May 2025.
The allocation for IPAS accommodation and supports for 2025 was €1.2 billion and this has reduced to an allocation of over €1.1 billion for accommodation and supports in 2026.
Please see, in tabular format, the total spend on IPAS accommodation in commercial and State-owned accommodation since 2010.
Please note the 2025 figure is provisional pending completion of the 2025 Appropriation Accounts.
|
Year |
IP Accommodation Cost |
|
2010 |
€79,000,000* |
|
2011 |
€69,500,000* |
|
2012 |
€62,330,000* |
|
2013 |
€55,228,000* |
|
2014 |
€53,217,000* |
|
2015 |
€57,025,000* |
|
2016 |
€64,137,000* |
|
2017 |
€67,359,000* |
|
2018 |
€77,993,000* |
|
2019 |
€129.408,000 |
|
2020 |
€183,215,000 |
|
2021 |
€190,856,000 |
|
2022 |
€356,554,000 |
|
2023 |
€651,756,000 |
|
2024 |
€1,005,000,000 |
|
2025 |
€1.2 Billion |
* data sourced from previously published Departmental records..
794. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons reported missing in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2026; and the number of whom are still missing. [14859/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Regrettably, this was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.
795. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to clarify whether the IPAS accommodation centre at a location (details supplied) is required to have on-site security under current IPAS contractual and operational standards; whether his Department is aware of reports that no security personnel are present at this location; the actions he will take to ensure compliance with required standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14882/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra796. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the performance of the provider operating the IPAS accommodation centre at a location (details supplied) has been formally reviewed in advance of the contract expiry in May 2026; whether any compliance issues, including security provision, have been identified; how such issues may influence the renewal decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14883/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra797. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when the Department expects to make a decision on the renewal or termination of the IPAS accommodation contract at a location (details supplied), which expires in May 2026; whether community impact and local resident concerns will form part of that decision-making process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14884/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra798. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether community impact, local consultation, and resident feedback will form part of his Department’s decision-making process regarding the renewal of the IPAS accommodation contract at a location (details supplied), which is due to expire in May 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14885/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 795, 796, 797 and 798 together.
The Department has a contract in place to provide international protection accommodation at this location, which is due to expire in May 2026.
Centres are subject to oversight arrangements and validation of compliance with all requirements through the Department's compliance team, with additional independent inspection and quality control through either Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) or IPAS-commissioned inspections.
The contracts accommodation provider at a centre is obliged to ensure provision of staffing and services at the centre.
Security and supervision arrangements are provided for under the contract and include the need to comply with the licensing requirements of the Private Security Authority (PSA).
With respect to contract renewals, the provision of accommodation for international protection applicants is demand-led, and each premises is considered on a case-by-case basis to decide if the contract will be renewed as it approaches its end date.
At renewal stage, consideration is given to value for money, the current and projected demand for accommodation, the provider's performance under contract, and compliance with standards and legal obligations.
Contracts are often of one or two-year duration, to afford flexibility to the State and work towards longer-term investment in State sites and reduced reliance on commercial accommodation.
The Department treats the individual details of contractual arrangements and processes as confidential and commercially sensitive while they are ongoing.
799. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if the Stardust recognition payment scheme will consider applications from survivors who were not beneficiaries of the original Stardust victims compensation scheme on account of having emigrated from Ireland or for other reasons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14891/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn Monday, 16 February, I announced details of the second phase of the Stardust Recognition Payment Scheme. The Scheme will remain open for six months, until 5pm on 17 August 2026.
The Scheme is available to all survivor beneficiaries of the original Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal established in 1985. The Stardust Recognition Scheme can be accessed online at www.stardustrecognitionpayment.ie, and applications can be made online or by post. A Stardust Recognition Payment Helpline has also been set up that is be available during office hours, for those who wish to request an application form to be sent to their home address.
The Scheme’s Terms and Conditions detail the eligibility criteria for applicants to access the payment. The Scheme specifies that eligible applicants must:
• have been injured as a result of being present at the Stardust Nightclub, Artane, Dublin at the time of the fire; and
• were awarded compensation by the 1985 Stardust Victims Compensation Tribunal.
It should be noted that eligible applicants can be based abroad or in Ireland, provided they fulfil the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme.
800. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prosecutions there have been under “Coco’s Law” annually, since its introduction into Irish law in February 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14917/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, also known as Coco’s Law, came into force in February 2021. The Act criminalises the sharing of, or threatening to share, intimate images without a person’s consent, with or without intent to cause harm to the victim.
The Act also seeks to target other areas of harmful communications by creating a new offence of distributing, publishing, or sending a threatening or grossly offensive communication with intent to cause harm and to extend the current offence of harassment to deal with communications about a person, as well as communications to a person.
Prosecutions are a matter for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which is entirely independent in its remit. The following statistics have been provided by the ODPP in relation to the number of cases where a decision was made to prosecute under sections 2, 3 or 4* of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 since its introduction:
2021 – 8 cases
2022 – 49 cases
2023 – 43 cases
2024 – 53 cases
2025 – 75 cases
2026 (to date) – 12 cases
* Section 2: Distributing, publishing or threatening to distribute or publish intimate image without consent with intent to cause harm or being reckless as to whether harm is caused; Section 3: Recording, distributing or publishing intimate image without consent; and Section 4: Distributing, publishing or sending threatening or grossly offensive communication.
