Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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378. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has completed any capacity modelling of the pressures on international protection accommodation services, supports, and associated State agencies arising from potential increased arrivals from the United Kingdom, and to provide the projected impact on available beds, contingency procurement, and budgetary allocations for 2025 and 2026. [68840/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is taking all necessary steps to manage the international protection process efficiently and effectively, while ensuring the integrity of those processes is maintained at all times.

Ireland and the United Kingdom share a long history and common interest in the effective operation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) and work together to prevent any abuses of the CTA.

There is also significant operational cooperation between the Gardaí, UK Border Force, UK policing services and the Police Service of Northern Ireland in relation to both immigration and criminal matters. This strong practical engagement and cooperation serves the mutual interests of both Ireland and the UK, and will continue.

I and the Government are aware that changes to the UK’s asylum practices or laws can result in changes to the migratory flows between the UK and Ireland.

Consequently, I will closely monitor the changes proposed by the UK Government and will respond to those proposals having considered them fully and discussed them with government colleagues.

Applications for international protection this year have reduced compared to 2024, though they remain high compared to pre-2022 levels. This reduction has allowed department officials to put in place greater controls over the IPAS accommodation portfolio after many years of intense surges in arrivals, and a crisis response to source accommodation.

Developing more State-owned options will allow us to move away from the current degree of reliance on commercial provision to more State-owned accommodation. As a key milestone, the State has purchased Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre in August of this year, which has increased our overall State-owned bed numbers from 900 spaces in early 2024 to over 4,000 today.

While commissioning emergency commercial accommodation will continue to be necessary in the short to medium term, it is being contracted on a short-term basis, which will enable the State to decommission this capacity with agility as contracts expire or demand fluctuates.