Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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130. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth regarding a recently signed IPAS centre contract (details supplied), if she will clarify the due diligence performed regarding the ownership of the centre. [20809/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you Deputy for your question.

My Department is working with communities all over Ireland to source and provide accommodation for people applying for international protection and emergency centres have been opened in all parts of the country.

This is part of Irish and EU law and is also part of our humanitarian duty to provide shelter to people fleeing war and persecution in their home country.

The State is currently accommodating over 33,000 people in over 320 international protection accommodation centres around the country.

Following the coming Transfer of Functions on 1 May 2025, this work will be continued by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration.

The accommodation centre at Dundrum House Hotel, Co Tipperary, has been providing accommodation under contract to my Department since 2022, with capacity for over 270 people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Since the numbers of Ukraine residents reduced over the last year or more, the property has also been accommodating just over 50 international protection applicants for the past nine months.

Background

Dundrum House Hotel ceased operation as a hotel a decade ago, in 2015. There is a golf course, wider grounds and a hospitality business on the site which have remained open the public and the community since that time, and remain open today, while part of the site operates as an accommodation centre.

A new contract has commenced at this property, and the centre will provide accommodation to up to 277 people in families seeking international protection in Ireland. This figure includes a number of people who are beneficiaries of temporary protection due to the war in Ukraine and who were already being accommodated at the property.

My Department's Community Engagement Team (CET) has engaged extensively with the local community about this property since May 2024, including meetings, personal contacts and ongoing correspondence, including discussion of the potential accommodation of international protection applicants at the centre.

The aim of community engagement is to improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into an area. They also help the local community understand the current situation and to assist with the welcome and integration process for new arrivals. My Department also works closely with a number of other government Departments and Non-Governmental Organisations to provide a wide range of supports to help new arrivals to integrate into an area as quickly as possible.

On 15 April 2025 the CET sent a formal briefing note, including detailed information on the property and type of accommodation to be provided directly to elected representatives, the Local Authority and other relevant groups.

The briefing note issued provided information to all recipients about the name of the accommodation provider and the type and nature of accommodation to be provided, along with details about the services to be in place for residents.

Contract and provider

In meeting our obligation to provide material reception conditions to people seeking international protection, the Department can consider offers of accommodation from a tax-compliant company, subject to compliance with statutory requirements and minimum standards.

Offers of accommodation can be made by a property owner, or another person who has authority do so, such as a leaseholder. As part of our appraisal process, we confirm if an offer has come from someone with the appropriate authority.

In terms of the contract in this case, the registered company named on the contract is a newly established entity that fully met the requirements set out by the Department.

The company is part of a wider commercial group that has experience in working with the Department to provide international protection accommodation.

The Department carries out due diligence on accommodation being contracted including checks on the provider via the Companies Registration Office (CRO) to ensure compliance with CRO requirements and tax compliance checks by way of a valid Tax Clearance Certificate.

According to routine EU trade arrangements, it is in order, and can be the case that a company or company director from another EU Member State operates contracts within Ireland or works with an Irish business to do so.

In all instances where the Department enters into a contract with an accommodation provider, the onus is on the provider to ensure all activities at the property are within legal limits, including health and safety, fire, planning and building compliance. Part of the appraisal process for a new contract includes review of the property’s services and compliance, and this done in conjunction with the Local Authority where relevant.

Any ongoing matters relating to fire, building or planning regulations remain between the Local Authority and the provider.

The Department understands that the Local Authority is in contact with the property in relation to planning matters, and that these matters are not related to the parts of the site contracted to the Department.

Any action that may be required as a result of the Local Authority’s engagement at the property will be addressed as relevant.

Detailed contractual arrangements for IPAS centres are confidential and commercially sensitive, however the Department publishes quarterly reports on all payments over €20,000. These reports are available online at Gov.ie.

Longer-term strategy

Our Department is working hard toward developing a more stable and sustainable accommodation system in this sector. Huge efforts are underway to source and bring into use suitable longer-term international protection accommodation facilities, in line with the Government’s Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy.

These include the use of State-owned land for emergency tented, prefabricated and modular units, conversion of commercial buildings, and targeted purchasing of turnkey properties. They will also include the design and building of new Reception and Integration Centres and upgrading of IPAS Centres. This will be supplemented, as required, by high standard commercial providers.

The degree of control given to the State by the creation of core supply of State-owned accommodation, of both emergency and permanent options, will increase as supply is delivered, re-establishing strategic direction over the accommodation type, location and dispersal pattern.

This work will be progressed as part of the development of a new Migration and Integration Strategy and will shortly transfer from my Department to the Department of Justice, which move is to be completed in the coming days.

I trust this information clarifies the matter.