Sinn Féin has called for a full review of the IPAS system, after new figures revealed that some landlords are “making literal fortunes”.
The Department of Justice spent €950 million accommodating international protection applicants in the first 10 months of last year, meaning the final sum is likely to comfortably exceed €1 billion once again.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Sinn Féin justice spokesperson Matt Carthy described the figures as a “symptom of the dysfunction of the IPAS system”.
“The average rate per bed per night rose by 68% just from 2022 to 2024,” he said.
“So, it's not just the numbers of people seeking international accommodation.
“It's actually the profits that are being made by those who are providing that accommodation.”
Asylum seekers queueing outside the Refugee Application Centre on Mount Street in Dublin. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.In recent months, the Government has taken steps to rein in the cost of the IPAS system - notably purchasing the Citywest Hotel for the price of €148 million.
However, Deputy Carthy said the system is still costing taxpayers far too much.
“The Comptroller and Auditor General in his annual report, he outlined a litany of issues in relation to the management of contracts for IPAS accommodation in the State,” he explained.
“And the report was really, really damning - one of the most damning I've seen in terms of lack of due diligence and payment controls that are in place.
“So, we don't know precisely how and why different figures are arrived at in terms of the payments that are made to individuals.”
The International Protection Office. Picture by: Sam Boal/Collins Photos.Overall, Deputy Carthy believes it is far from a “fair system” and the Government accepted applicants from a number of accommodation suppliers with dubious backgrounds.
“We've known that one IPAS provider was actually somebody who had been named in Criminal Assets Bureau documents as being involved in gangland activity,” he explained.
“We've seen a company went from making profits of €2,000 a year to where its directors were being paid €4.5 million a year in wages.
“We've seen a company that had, in one instance, supplied fake Garda documents to Tusla and then subsequently secured an IPAS accommodation.
“And we've seen companies whose names had appeared on the tax defaulters list.
“All of that information has come about, not because the Department has divulged it but because journalists have exposed it.”
Delays
Deputy Carthy urged the Government to carry out a “full review” of every IPAS, but added that the main reason the IPAS system has become so costly is because it is “still taking far, far too long for decisions to be made”.
“When somebody comes into the international protection system, it is taking close on three years, on average, for an actual decision to be made in respect of that application,” he said.
“And therein lies the reason for the pressure and therein lies the reason why a very small number of individuals and companies are making literal fortunes.”
The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment.
Main image: Citywest Hotel in Saggart. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.
