Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 September 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

International Protection Accommodation Service: Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

2:00 am

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

I did not expect to go on so long on that point.

I move now to my next question. I have a local electoral area, LEA, breakdown of all international protection and Ukrainian refugees across the country. I have four or five of those breakdowns because I asked the question four or five times. It took me a long time to get that information. It took the guts of four or five months, working with the Ceann Comhairle, to get it from the Department of children, which was previously the responsible Department. Has the Minister any concern in relation to the geographical distribution of how IPAS accommodation is provided? There seems to be significant differences across locations, with some LEAs taking more than others. In my own area of Roscrea, for instance, the last hotel in the town was taken out. It should be a rule of thumb by the way that this never happens again. Those contracts should never be allowed to be extended. Are there criteria for ensuring the situation is not lopsided in terms of the accommodation provision in certain local areas versus others?

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