Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 629: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount paid by his Department to a company (details supplied) in County Mayo since 2004 for facilities in County Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23067/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers in accordance with the Government policy of direct provision. Direct provision allows asylum seekers to be provided with full board accommodation and certain ancillary services while their applications for international protection are being processed. Today, RIA has contracted to it 40 accommodation centres around the country accommodating just over 5,600 persons, including the centre which is the subject of this question.

In fulfilling its general accommodation responsibilities, the RIA does not lease or rent premises from commercial contractors. Rather, it 'contracts-in' a comprehensive range of services and facilities, which include accommodation, housekeeping etc., for a fixed sum over the period of the contract. RIA endeavours to achieve the best value for money in relation to such contracts, in respect of which negotiations can take place with a number of commercial entities. It is not in the interests of the taxpayer that details of current individual contracts are known to the public or to other parties who are, or may be in the future, engaged in negotiations with the RIA. Therefore, details of current contracts are not provided. Per diem payment rates to contractors, which may be gleaned from past data, are not necessarily a guide to current rates. For example, in 2009 negotiations took place with contractors to amend contracts to reduce costs to the taxpayer in the light of the prevailing crisis in the public finances and rates in new contracts also reflect the current financial reality.

In relation to the centre in question, details from the first contract beginning in July 2004 to the contract ending in October, 2008 are shown in the table below. It shows the number of accommodation places provided during the currency of each contract and the overall value of each of the contracts. Note that contracts are not generally made for periods matching a calendar year and can span a number of years or simply a number of months. It can be said that the contract which began after October 2008, and which is ongoing, provides for a current accommodation capacity of 255.

Overall details of spending by RIA are provided in its Annual Reports of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 which are available on its website – www.ria.gov.ie