I propose to take Questions Nos. 593 and 598 together.
Providing reception conditions, including accommodation, to people who are applying for international protection is provided for under EU and Irish law.
The then Government responded to a sudden and sustained increased in asylum applications from 2022 to 2024, which coincided with the arrival of over 120,000 people from Ukraine. During this period, the IPAS accommodation capacity grew by over 400%.
The State was unable to accommodation all eligible applicants with accommodation from 2023 to the middle of 2026.
Any instance of an operational IPAS centre being unoccupied would be extremely rare, and associated with operational or contractual issues. These might include a centre being closed to residents for health, wellbeing or infection control reasons, or as part of a response related to regulatory matters, include building regulation or fire safety. Where a contract is coming to an end, residents may be relocated in advance of a closure.
According to available records, instances where an operational IPAS accommodation centre was not occupied on 31 December from 2021 to 2025 were as follows:
|
Year
|
Centres
|
|
2021
|
1
|
|
2022
|
2
|
|
2023
|
0
|
|
2024
|
2
|
|
2025
|
1
|
Data on accommodation centres being unoccupied for more than three months during this period is not available.
Once an IPAS accommodation centre is in operation, IPAS does not publish details of the specific locations, resident profile, and occupancy of our individual accommodation centres. This is to protect the privacy and security of accommodation centres.
Details of contractual arrangements in relation to IPAS accommodation centres are treated as confidential and commercially sensitive.
However, there is full transparency from the Department in terms of payments, with details of all payments over €20,000 published quarterly online at Gov.ie.
Details of payments while IPAS accommodation was provided through the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality (DCDE) are available here: Purchase Orders for €20,000 or above. (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/collections/department-of-children-equality-disability-integration-and-youth-purchase-orders-for-20000-or-above/)
Since 1 May 2025, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is responsible for sourcing and providing accommodation for people applying for international protection, and the details of payments since this date are available here: Purchase Orders Issued over €20,000 in value. (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/collections/department-of-justice-purchase-orders-issued-over-20000-in-value/).
Separate to the question at hand, security is currently being maintained at two State-owned centres that are now closed to residents, the Midlands Accommodation Centre, Lissywollen in Westmeath and River Lodge, Newtownmountkennedy, in Wicklow, while works are underway associated with remediation of the sites.
