Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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There are currently over 27,000 people being accommodated by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS).

Over 9,800 of those International Protection (IP) applicants are being accommodated in 70 hotels throughout Ireland. Over 90% of those hotels are contracted exclusively for the accommodation of International Protection (IP) applicants and are not available for commercial bookings.

Contractual arrangements for the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation centres are deemed confidential and commercially sensitive. IPAS contracts vary in length and cost, and therefore, it is not possible to provide the duration of contracts currently held for accommodation purposes.

The total spend for International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation at year end 2023, was €640,064,470, with 26,279 residents accommodated at 31 December 2023. The cost includes all accommodation and related costs, including transport, facilities management and other related expenditure. The average cost of accommodating an IP applicant in IPAS accommodation is currently €76.80 per night.

In relation to service providers contracted by IPAS to provide accommodation services to International Protection (IP) applicants, the Department publishes reports on all payments over €20,000.These are published, once per quarter, on gov.ie

(www.gov.ie/en/collection/dfdadb-department-of-children-and-youth-affairs-purchase-orders-for-20000-o/#2022)

The Government is committed to delivering on its legal obligations to provide material reception conditions to those seeking International Protection (IP) in Ireland, and the Department is contracting emergency and short-term accommodation across the country in order to accommodate people as they arrive.

The Department carries out due diligence on accommodation being contracted including; Companies Registration Office number, where relevant; Tax Clearance Certificate; insurance; fire safety; accessibility to amenities; levels of service; and competitiveness of rates.

While the specific data set requested with respect to companies holding multiple contracts is not available at this juncture, work is progressing within the Department to compile this.