Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

The issue I wish to raise today is the whole issue of ownership of IPAS centres and, indeed, who exactly the beneficial owners of those centres are. In the public accounts committee recently, it was highlighted that €1 billion was spent on commercial providers, of which €230 million was given to seven providers, with one of those receiving close to €50 million. As one of my following questions, I asked a straightforward question of a senior departmental official about whether the Department always knew who the beneficial owners in these companies were. The answer given was that the Department did not necessarily always have that detail. Separately, I asked whether it was possible that someone with a criminal background could have a beneficial interest in a centre and I was told that the Department "could not say for sure on that." For me, that was not good enough and I immediately sought a recommendation that any owners of IPAS centres who applied to house IPAS applicants must declare and confirm as a legal obligation who the beneficial owners of the centres applying were. This would ensure full disclosure and transparency of ownership. I ask the Tánaiste that this be actioned immediately.

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