Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

Last year, the Government initiated a policy of purchasing or establishing State-owned centres as opposed to relying entirely on the private sector, which has been criticised a lot by the Deputy's party and the Opposition more generally, in terms of housing asylum seekers pending adjudication of their asylum applications. In respect of City West, it is fundamentally a value-for-money consideration as to which makes greater sense, namely to continue to lease indefinitely for years or to purchase. I will ask the Minister for justice to engage with the Deputy. I will alert him to the fact that he has raised the issue.

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