Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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75. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide details of the daily occupancy levels and the possibility of re-opening a hotel (details supplied) for tourists, as well as facilitating IPAS applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53439/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in 319 IPAS centres around the country, 9,500 of whom are children.

Since 2024, once a centre is in operation, IPAS has not published details of the capacity or occupancy of our accommodation centres, to preserve the privacy and security of residents and staff.

In relation to the property mentioned, as is the case with many IPAS Accommodation Centres, the configuration of the premises referred to does not lend itself to a practical dual use of this property as suggested. This is related to legal duties to ensure privacy and anonymity of international protection applicants, and also to the fact that this is a family centre, meaning that all staff and the centre has to operate in accordance with Children First Guidelines on child safeguarding.

In terms of potential future use of the location, the State is working to develop more State-owned IP accommodation and reduce reliance on commercial providers over time.

Ireland has adopted and is now working to implement the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum in mid-2026. Reforming and speeding up processing of applications should also serve over time to reduce the scale of the demand for IP accommodation.

As developing more sustainable state-owned accommodation system options will take time, the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be a feature in the short to medium term.