Independent TD Carol Nolan has said that the procurement of a third-party provider service to implement a process to ensure those in IPAS accomodation who are employed or self-employed now contribute towards costs will add extra costs and further delay.
Deputy Nolan was commenting on the Minister for Justice’s written reply to her latest parliamentary question on what she says is the long-overdue introduction of a contribution model for employed and self-employed residents in the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).
In the reply, the Minister confirms that a proposal for working international protection applicants to contribute to the cost of their IPAS accommodation was considered by Government in November 2025 and is now “being progressed”.
Critically, however, the latest reply now reveals that the implementation process “will include procurement of an appropriate third-party provider service”, with further detailed analysis and determination of implementation costs still to be carried out during the procurement phase:
The scheme, which is provided for under EU regulations and Irish law (Statutory Instrument No. 230/2018), will require contributions from those earning above a certain threshold, with rates set out in the Regulations.
However, full implementation is not expected until the end of 2026, which is more than two years after Deputy Nolan first exposed the issue through a series of parliamentary questions:
“I am the first TD to have exposed, through a series of parliamentary questions dating back to May 2024, the fact that employed and self-employed IPAS residents were not being asked to make any contribution towards their accommodation costs, despite clear provision in law and the existence of similar contribution models for Irish HAP tenants.”
“While I welcome the confirmation that the scheme is finally moving forward, the timeline remains utterly unacceptable. We are now in April 2026 and the Government is still talking about a 12-month implementation window that includes the procurement of a third-party provider. This is another bureaucratic layer that will inevitably drive up costs to the taxpayer and push full rollout even further into the future.”
“Procuring an external service to do what should be a straightforward administrative function of the Department reeks of classic Government delay tactics. It is simply not credible that it takes this long to implement a proportionate contribution model that already exists in law and is operating successfully in other EU member states,” Deputy Nolan continued.
“Irish taxpayers have funded accommodation, food and services for international protection applicants for far too long without any reciprocal contribution from those in employment. The perception of half-hearted political will is now reinforced by the insertion of a third-party procurement process at this late stage.”
“I will continue to hold the Minister to account and will table further questions to ensure this scheme is delivered without further delay or unnecessary expense. The people of Ireland deserve better than endless reviews and procurement exercises while costs continue to mount,” concluded Deputy Nolan.