Written answers

Tuesday, 2 December 2025

Department of Justice and Equality

International Protection

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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438. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people living in IPAS accommodation with status, broken down by county, and household size, including number of adults and children per household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68026/25]

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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439. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of households with status, including the number of children who have been transferred to alternative IPAS accommodation, since 4 July 2025; if his Department or the International Protection Accommodation Service has engaged with local authorities on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68027/25]

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 438 and 439 together.

The State is currently accommodating almost 33,000 people in nearly 320 International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres around the country, over 9,500 of whom are children.

At the moment, almost 5,000 people in IPAS accommodation have a legal status allowing them to remain in Ireland. This is not a static number of people; approximately 11,000 people with status have moved out of IPAS accommodation since 2022, and approximately 3,500 this year to date.

The table below sets out the number of people with legal status, broken down by local authority as of October 2025. The breakdown of data requested with respect to household size is not readily available.

Local Authority Total with Status
Carlow County Council 65
Cavan County Council 16
Clare County Council 215
Cork City Council 112
Cork County Council 259
Donegal County Council 362
Dublin City 436
Dún Laoghaire/ Rathdown County Council 105
Fingal County Council 336
Galway City Council 264
Galway County Council 91
Kerry County Council 113
Kildare County Council 85
Kilkenny County Council 18
Laois County Council 72
Leitrim County Council 44
Limerick City and County Council 60
Longford County Council 23
Louth County Council 154
Mayo County 404
Meath County 147
Monaghan County Council 94
Offaly County Council 73
Roscommon County Council 24
Sligo County Council 96
South Dublin County Council 504
Tipperary County Council 217
Waterford City and County Council 123
Westmeath County Council 131
Wexford County Council 65
Wicklow County Council 193
Total 4,901
In March 2025, 600 families with status over one year were written to, and offered transfer to alternative emergency IPAS accommodation from 4 July 2025. Below is the information requested on these offers and their progress in 2025 to date.
- Offers sent Left IPAS Transferred to alternative emergency IPAS centre In progress
Families 600 362 109 129
When a person completes their international protection application and receives a positive decision, they have a legal status that allows them to remain in Ireland. This also means they gain access to the full range of housing supports available to all Irish residents, which are not available to people going through the application process.

To help people move from IPAS accommodation to find housing options in the community, IPAS has a team that works in collaboration with DePaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Local Authorities.

There is a need for people with status to transition living independently in our communities, improving their integration into our society while also creating space within IPAS accommodation for newer arrivals.

It is essential that IPAS maintains enough accommodation to meet the needs of new applicants, who have a legal entitlement to IPAS accommodation, do not have immediate access to the labour market, and do not have access to standard housing benefits or standard social welfare entitlements.

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