Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
594. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the twenty accommodation providers that received the highest payments under IPAS contracts in 2025; the amount paid to each provider; the number of centres operated by each provider; and the county location of each centre. [68747/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra595. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department holds a breakdown of accommodation costs and security costs for IPAS centres; if so, the breakdown; and if not, the reason expenditure is not separately recorded. [68746/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra596. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total amount paid by the State to each IPAS accommodation centre in 2025, broken down by centre name, county and accommodation provider. [68745/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra597. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the name, county, operator and accommodation provider of each centre currently under contract with the International Protection Accommodation Service; the maximum annual contract value of each contract; and the amount paid to each provider in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [68744/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra602. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of IPAS accommodation centres in each county as of 1 September 2026; the maximum contracted capacity of each centre; the current occupancy of each centre; and the accommodation provider operating each facility. [68748/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 594, 595, 596, 597 and 602 together.
Providing reception conditions to people who are applying for international protection is part of EU and Irish law, and people are entitled to accommodation for the duration of their application process.
The State is currently accommodating over 31,800 people seeking international protection in 297 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country.
The allocation for IPAS accommodation and supports for 2025 was €1.27 billion and this reduced to €1.1 billion for accommodation and supports in 2026. This is the first time in five years that the budget for international protection accommodation and supports is less than the previous year.
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 1: 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 |
€1,005,000,000 |
|
2025 |
€1.2 Billion |
The costs outlined above pertain to accommodation for international protection applicants, including transport, facilities management, utilities and other related costs.
Security costs and service provision at accommodation centres are included in the overall contracted rate with the accommodation service provider. As such, the Department does not hold details of individual security contracts, service providers, or costs, which are included in the overall contracted costs.
The Department treats individual accommodation centres' contractual details 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: Purchase Orders for €20,000 or above (www.gov.ie/en/collection/dfdadb-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-purchase-orders-for-20000-o/).
Details of payments since transfer to this Department are available here: Department of Justice 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/).
The Department does not publish information on the locations, occupancy or capacity of accommodation centres. This is to protect the privacy and safety of residents and staff. 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: Statistics 2004 to 2026 (www.gov.ie/en/international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/collections/statistics-2004-to-2026/#latest-ipas-statistics-weekly-report).
Details of the numbers of accommodation centres in each county are provided below:
|
County |
No. of Centres |
|
Carlow |
5 |
|
Cavan |
3 |
|
Clare |
11 |
|
Cork |
22 |
|
Donegal |
28 |
|
Dublin |
73 |
|
Galway |
24 |
|
Kerry |
12 |
|
Kildare |
5 |
|
Kilkenny |
3 |
|
Laois |
4 |
|
Leitrim |
2 |
|
Limerick |
6 |
|
Longford |
2 |
|
Louth |
11 |
|
Mayo |
14 |
|
Meath |
9 |
|
Monaghan |
5 |
|
Offaly |
8 |
|
Roscommon |
4 |
|
Sligo |
10 |
|
Tipperary |
6 |
|
Waterford |
7 |
|
Westmeath |
10 |
|
Wexford |
5 |
|
Wicklow |
8 |
|
Total |
297 |
