Deputy Ken O’Flynn has said the latest figures released by the Department of Justice which show 800 people who are subject to deportation orders are currently residing in IPAS centres raises profound questions about oversight, accountability and public confidence in the administration of the asylum system.
He said that the IPAS system was operating without basic transparency or control, after the Government confirmed it cannot state how many people in IPAS accommodation are at each stage of the asylum process.
“You cannot run a system of this scale blindfolded,” the Independent Ireland TD told Gript.
The cost to the State of the 800 people who are still living in IPAS accommodation despite being issued with deportation orders is estimated at more than €550,000 a week – based on the €99 average nightly cost of asylum accommodation confirmed in a recent government report.
The Cork North Central TD said the admission raises profound questions about oversight, accountability and public confidence in the administration of the asylum system. He described the figures as “extraordinary”.
“The Government has confirmed that more than 33,000 people are currently being accommodated through IPAS, including over 9,000 children, across more than 300 centres nationwide,” he said. “Yet astonishingly, the State also admits it does not collate data on residents by stage of the application process.”
“In other words, the Government cannot clearly tell the public how many people in accommodation are awaiting a first decision, how many are at appeal stage, how many are in permission-to-remain processes, or how many remain in accommodation after final decisions have been made,” he said.
“That is not good enough.”
“At the same time, we now learn there are more than 20,000 cases pending before the International Protection Appeals Tribunal alone, with more than 35,000 applications still active across the system.”
“Most concerning of all, the Minister has confirmed that over 800 people currently residing in IPAS accommodation are already subject to deportation orders.”
“That fact alone will deeply concern many members of the public.”
“The State has also confirmed that Ireland does not operate routine exit checks at ports or airports. That means the Government cannot definitively determine how many persons subject to deportation orders have actually left the country,” Deputy O’Flynn said.
“The public has a right to expect that immigration enforcement operates on the basis of accurate information, measurable oversight and transparent systems. These replies reveal major gaps in all three.”
The Cork North Central TD further noted that the average length of stay in IPAS accommodation for persons granted status increased from 19.2 months in 2023 to 24.3 months in 2025.
“At a time of enormous pressure on accommodation capacity and public finances, Government must ensure there is a functioning and credible system with proper accountability.”
PUBLIC TRUST
“Ireland must always be compassionate and fair. But compassion without enforcement, without transparency and without operational control risks undermining public trust in the entire system,” he said.
“The Irish people are entitled to know whether the international protection system is functioning efficiently, whether decisions are being enforced, and whether accommodation resources are being managed properly.”
“The fact that IPAS does not maintain even a basic breakdown of residents by application stage points to a serious governance and data oversight failure,” he said.
“You cannot run a system of this scale blindfolded,” the Cork TD said.
“The Government urgently needs to provide far greater transparency on who is in the system, what stage they are at, how long they have been there, and why individuals subject to deportation orders continue to remain in State accommodation.”
“Public confidence depends on accountability. At present, the State is struggling to demonstrate either.”
Deputy O’Flynn has now submitted further Parliamentary Questions seeking:• detailed breakdowns of persons under deportation orders residing in IPAS• accommodation costs associated with delayed removals• enforcement timelines• inter-agency coordination arrangements• improved immigration departure monitoring systems
“The issue here is not rhetoric. It is governance. A State cannot run a credible immigration system without accurate data, transparent oversight and effective enforcement mechanisms,” Deputy O’Flynn concluded.