Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The contracts engaged in by the Reception and Integration Agency of my Department for the provision of accommodation and meals for persons who apply for refugee status under the Geneva Convention of 1951 are kept under constant review by the agency, with a view to ensuring that the costs of accommodating such persons are kept to a minimum and to ensure maximum value for the taxpayer.

On 21 October 2008, the Government agreed to a new round of value for money reviews for the period 2009-11. Spending by the RIA on asylum seeker accommodation is part of the Vote of the Office of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and is subject to such a review. The review will take place over the course of 2009, the results of which will be presented to the Oireachtas upon its completion. As is the case with value for money reviews, it has a steering committee, consisting of officials from my Department and the Department of Finance, and an independent chairperson. The first meeting of the review committee was on Monday, 23 February 2009.

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