Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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1783. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total number of hotel rooms which are currently being occupied by asylum seekers and being paid for by the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18523/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I regret that statistics in respect of the total number of hotel rooms currently contracted to International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) are not routinely collated by the Department.

IPAS is currently providing accommodation to approximately 33,000 international protection (IP) applicants, in over 320 centres nationwide. IPAS does not routinely collate detailed information on the former use of our accommodation centres.

IPAS releases weekly statistics in relation to IP applicants. This includes a per county breakdown of where IP applicants are residing and a wide range of other details. These statistics are located on the Gov.ie website: .

From 2022 to the end of 2024, there was a sudden and sustained increase in numbers of people applying for international protection in Ireland, and in other EU Member States. This increase happened at the same time as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which saw over 114,000 people from Ukraine come to live in Ireland. Amid a basic shortage of accommodation across society, these changes placed profound and sustained pressure on the Department’s work to source viable accommodation for new arrivals over the last two years, with IPAS expanding its capacity by 400%.

The Department is working to develop additional State-owned accommodation options in the longer term, and to develop a more sustainable accommodation system At this time, over 90% of our IPAS accommodation is commercially provided, through the use of properties that may include former hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, office buildings and others.

Trends in the need for accommodation are now changing, for example, the level of need among people from Ukraine has reduced and is expected to continue to do so. Many Ukraine properties (more than 400 in 2024) are being returned to their former use, for example in tourism, hospitality and education, and to private use.

Recent figures from Fáilte Ireland show that in 2024, over 12,000 beds were returned from use by my Department's Ukraine response to tourism. These were among 15,000 beds returned to private use by the Ukraine team in the period.

This should allow growth of the tourism sector in the areas concerned, with an acknowledgment of the contribution made by these areas and providers to support the historic humanitarian and State response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Since March 2024, this Government-approved strategy for international protection accommodation has been in implementation. This involves the use of State-owned land for emergency, prefabricated and modular units, conversion of commercial buildings, and targeted purchasing of turnkey properties.

As developing these more sustainable state-owned accommodation system options under this strategy will take time, the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be a feature in the short to medium term. However, this accommodation will be contracted on a shorter-term basis and if numbers drop can be decommissioned as contracts expire.