Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2026
133. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total amount paid by the State for IPAS accommodation at the Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre for each of the past five years (2021-2025), and the estimated cost for 2026 to date. [35522/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra134. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration total expenditure incurred by the State on IPAS accommodation at the Red Cow complex (including any associated hotels or facilities) for each of the past five years (2021-2025). [35523/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra135. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total expenditure by his Department on IPAS accommodation at Crooksling for each of the past five years (2021-2025). [35524/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra136. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total amount paid in respect of St John's House IPAS accommodation centre in Cookstown, Tallaght, for each of the past five years (2021-2025). [35525/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra137. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the capacity and average occupancy levels of the Citywest IPAS facility for each year from 2021 to 2025. [35526/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra138. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the names of the companies or entities contracted to provide IPAS accommodation services at (i) Citywest, (ii) Red Cow, (iii) Crooksling, and (iv) St John's House Cookstown. [35527/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra140. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in the event that precise figures cannot be provided for the locations referenced, if he will provide the total payments made to the relevant accommodation providers associated with these facilities for each of the past five years. [35529/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138 and 140 together.
Since 2024, the Department does not publish information on the locations or capacity of accommodation centres. This is to protect the privacy and safety of residents and staff.
The Department considers commercial contract information as commercially sensitive, and does not publish details of contractual information on the basis that it could place the State at a disadvantage in ongoing commercial negotiations.
However, there is full transparency from the Department in terms of providers receiving payments, with details of all payments over €20,000 and the recipients published quarterly online at Gov.ie.
Details of payments while the IPAS accommodation was provided through the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality (DCDE) are available here: www.gov.ie/en/collection/dfdadb-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-purchase-orders-for-20000-o/.
Following the Transfer of Functions on 1 May 2025, the Department of Justice is now responsible for sourcing and providing accommodation for people applying for international protection, and the details of payments since the transfer are available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/collections/department-of-justice-purchase-orders-issued-over-20000-in-value/.
On a national level, the allocation for IPAS accommodation and supports for 2025 was €1.27 billion and this has reduced to €1.1 billion for accommodation and supports in 2026.
The table below outlines the total spend on IPAS accommodation in commercial and State-owned accommodation since 2021. Please note the 2025 figure is provisional pending completion of the 2025 Appropriation Accounts.
Table: Total spend on IPAS accommodation in commercial and State-owned accommodation since 2021.
|
2021 |
€190,856,000 |
|
2022 |
€356,554,000 |
|
2023 |
€651,756,000 |
|
2024 |
€1.005 billion |
|
2025 |
€1.2 billion |
The costs outlined above pertain to accommodation for international protection applicants, including transport, facilities management, utilities and other related costs.
The Department is working to increase the amount of State-owned international protection accommodation and creating a more stable and sustainable accommodation system. As developing these more sustainable state-owned accommodation system options will take time, the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be a feature in the short to medium term.
The Department publishes figures detailing the numbers of residents and centres, with a breakdown of numbers of emergency accommodation centres, on a regular basis and these reports are available here: www.gov.ie/en/international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/collections/statistics-2004-to-2026/#latest-ipas-statistics-weekly-report.
