The Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) committee has heard confirmation that the State spent a total of €2.1 billion on International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) last year.
The committee was told on Thursday that the State overpaid IPAS providers some €7.4 million, as officials from the Department of Justice were pressed on whether or not the money has been recovered.
During the meeting, senior officials from the Department of Justice confirmed that €978 million had been paid to third parties for the provision of IPAS accommodation, including €230 million to just seven providers.
Department officials confirmed that it spent roughly €1.1 billion on IPAS accommodation in 2024. There was roughly another €1 billion spent by the Department for accommodation for those from Ukraine, it said. The total figure for 2024 is now €2.1 billion, the meeting heard.
Asked for a cost breakdown, officials before the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday said that the average contracted rate for each IPAS bed is €71 per person per night, however the cost across the system is higher as it includes funding for local authority integration teams, paying for taxis and buses, and other services across the system.
The meeting heard concerns that Ireland has become a an “outlier” in terms of the cost per refugee compared to other countries, after an OECD report found Ireland had the second highest cost per refugee, after the UK.
“We are a complete outlier in terms of the cost per refugee that we are reporting,” Deputy Paul McAuliffe told the committee.
The PAC also heard that some 159,000 people arrived in Ireland seeking temporary accommodation or international protection, between 2022 and last year. Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Oonagh McPhilips, said that this included 114,000 people from Ukraine. According to Ms McPhilips, “exceptional demands” were placed on the State’s system, which she said responded to an “intense” surge in applications for asylum.
A report from the State’s spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), published in September, found that the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) became aware in December 2023 that it had been incorrectly charged VAT to the sum of €7.4 million by a provider of multiple properties.
Deputy Catherine Ardagh, at the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, asked if the provider was still operating under IPAS contracts.
“If it is, why is it still operating? If the amount is not fully recovered, has the Department initiated legal proceedings to recover the overpayment of VAT?” she asked David Delaney, Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Justice.
Mr Delaney said that €1.9 million had been paid back, which Ms Ardagh pointed out was “not the full amount.”
“That is not the full amount. The amount of the VAT overcharge is €7.4 million. Why has the Department not recovered the full €7.4 million?” she asked.
“It was an overcharge at the time, but it was an overcharge as part of a broader VAT settlement between the Revenue Commissioners and the provider in question. It was not that we were incorrectly charged on all of it. It was only a portion of it. The portion we were incorrectly charged on was refunded to us,” Mr Delaney said.
“The public are looking on and thinking that significant sums are being paid out. Public trust depends on openness and clear communication […] What is the Department doing to rebuild public confidence to show that spending is transparent, that procurement, especially when it comes to IPAS, is fair, and that the system works for international protection applicants and the wider communities, where a lot of these centres are based?” the Deputy asked.
“We publish the payments to providers on the gov.ie website,” the Senior Department official said. “There is very much a transparent system in place so people know exactly what is paid. In terms of the process around awarding contracts, we have a very detailed due diligence process that people can have confidence in. The rate card gives confidence as well.”
Deputy Joe Neville pressed officials on the amount of taxpayer money the State has paid so far to third-parties in relation to IPAS accommodation.
“There was €978 million paid to third parties. Is that correct? Of that, €230 million was paid to seven people. Is that correct?” he asked. Mr Delaney accepted that it was.
“Many of those names are out. They are from different backgrounds. Are we happy with those people, those seven groups that we have given €230 million to?” Mr Neville asked.
Mr Delaney insisted that there was a “very clear system of due diligence in place.”
“All contracts are provided to companies with a Companies Registration Office number and have gone through that process. I outlined the inspections regime we have as well. We have a system of oversight and we have a system of control when people are entering our process. We have a system of control when contracts are being renewed,” he claimed.
However, when asked if it was always the case that the Department was aware of who the beneficial shareholders in these companies were, he said that the Department “would not necessarily always have that detail.”
Deputy Neville said: “The shareholders in the companies that are given contracts are not known.”
“I am an accountant and I have looked through them. It is almost impossible in some cases for me to track. When I was looking I could not find who the beneficial owners of certain companies were. Why are we giving contracts to companies if we do not know who the shareholders are?”
“Ultimately, our due diligence process is open and fair. I do not want to repeat the Companies Registrations Office standards we require and the mapping standards we require. We also require other documents in relation to the property and the standard of the property,” Mr Delaney responded.
When questioned, the senior Department official said that he “could not say for sure” if it was indeed possible that someone with a criminal background could have a beneficial interest in some of the companies.
“So we cannot be sure. Do we check on the numbers who are actually in the accommodation? There might supposedly be 70 people in a place, do we check directly to ensure that 70 people are there when they are being billed? How do we know there are not only 30 or 40 in the place?” Deputy Neville asked.
ROW OVER RYEVALE HOUSE
Separately, Department officials were questioned about why they have allowed Ryevale House in Kildare to be used as an IPAS centre “if it does not have planning permission.”
The three-storey house began housing international protection applicants in March 2023.
In June 2024, it was reported that the 18th-century mansion in Kildare, continues to be used to house asylum claimants despite Kildare County Council issuing a refusal notice for planning permission to the owners.
The Irish Mail on Sunday said that the local authority refused permission to developers on the basis that the was “subject to a material change of use, and such use is unauthorised”.
Earlier this month, controversy over the use of the property deepened amid questions about how water is being supplied to the property, which accommodates female asylum seekers.
According to the Mail on Sunday, an emergency fire hydrant at a disused filling station near Dunboyne in Meath was used to supply water to the property.
“I knew there had not been compliance. It was simple. If you look at the legislation, it shows that a residence could not be used. That was a residence. It is simple and straightforward. Kildare County Council has said it does not have planning permission. An Bord Pleanála says it does not have planning permission. You have one arm of the State working against other arms of the State. How is this allowed?” Deputy Neville probed.
“An Bord Pleanála made a decision. Kildare County Council made a decision, yet the Department is deciding not to go with it. The Department is working against An Bord Pleanála, the local people and Kildare County Council. That is the position. Does Mr. Delaney know there is no running water in Ryevale House?” he asked.
‘NO RUNNING WATER’
“Is Mr. Delaney aware that there is no running water or certainly not enough water for the people in Ryevale House?” he repeated.
“There is running water in Ryevale House,” Mr Delaney said. “There is not enough running water. There is a water tanker,” Deputy Joe Neville said.
“Correct. There is running water, however. It is not sufficient running water—–” said Mr Delaney, who said that water was being bought in by a tanker on a fortnightly basis.
“Does Mr. Delaney know where the provider was receiving the water from up to two weeks ago? Where was the company in question getting the water for that tanker?” asked Deputy Neville.
Asked whether the contractor was providing the water “to an appropriate standard,” Mr Delaney said: “We are looking into that.”
“The contractor was not doing it to an appropriate standard,” said the Deputy. “This will be my final question. Why did the Department say there was a protest that would not allow the water connection to be fixed from Uisce Éireann to the house when that was completely wrong? Mr. Delaney said a protest would not allow the water to be connected. The actual position is that Uisce Éireann is not able to work on a site on which there is an unauthorised development. Is that not correct?”
Deputy Neville told the committee that it was in fact the case that Uisce Éireann is unable to work on Ryevale House, stating: “It is not allowed to, it is an unauthorised development.”
Mr Delaney hit back, claiming that “I believe it did – it was blocked by protestors” referring to reports that protestors had been ordered to “stop blocking” work on the water supply to the 18th-century property.
In March 2025, the owner of the property secured a High Court order preventing protestors at the site, after the Irish Times reported that work on a new water connection “had to be stopped over safety concerns.”
“No, it is not allowed to. Once it was pointed out that it was an unauthorised development, Uisce Éireann said it could not do the work. Mr. Delaney said it was because of the protest. That was not the case. Mr. Delaney should regret that comment,” said Deputy Neville.
“If Mr. Delaney looks it up, he will find that Uisce Éireann cannot work on a site that has an unauthorised development. Once that was highlighted to Uisce Éireann, it pulled the plug.”
Mr Delaney said he accepted the point.
The meeting heard elsewhere that IPAS accommodation contracted by the Department had been “poor and inconsistent” and that due diligence on the Department’s part had been “absent.” The PAC also heard that in the year up to April, the CSO recorded that almost 125,300 people moved to Ireland. This included 31,500 returning Irish citizens and 30,200 arrivals from the UK and EU. Around 50%, the committee, heard, came from countries including Brazil and India, to work or study.