The State spent a record €1.2 billion on accommodation for asylum seekers last year, the Committee of Public Accounts has heard.
The Committee, which met on Thursday at Leinster House, heard that a further €150 million was spent on turning the former CityWest Hotel into a permanent State-run IPAS centre.
Under questioning from Fine Gael TD Joe Neville, Department officials said that in total, €2.2 billion was spent by the State in 2024 accommodating both IPAS applicants and those who have come to Ireland from Ukraine.
The cost of running State accommodation for those seeking international protection is up by an estimated €160 million from the 2024 figure. The new figures mean that the nightly cost per IPAS applicant is €71, with this figure paid to commercial providers – the majority of whom are hotels – across the country.
Officials from the Department of Justice who attended the meeting alongside the Comptroller and Auditor General insisted that they expect the cost to decrease this year, amid efforts to process applicants at a faster rate. It was noted during the meeting that the Government is seeking to bring the current average of 24 months for processing asylum applications down to six months by mid-2026.
It was acknowledged by Fianna Fail TD Seamus McGrath that this would be a “monumental task.”
Officials told the Dáil Committee that they expect 14,000 people will be in State-owned and operated IPAS accommodation by 2028, as the Government seeks to move away from the outsourcing of private operators.
The Committee also heard that there are over 300 privately operated centres, with operators including the Holiday Inn and Mosney Holidays pocketing €25 million last year.
TDs were told that there were 33,000 people living in IPAS accommodation at the end of last year.
The meeting also heard that over 126,000 people from Ukraine have arrived to date, with an estimated 80,000 remaining in the country. There were around 6,000 new arrivals last year.
Of these, 23,000 Ukrainians are staying in accommodation being paid for by the State, and operated by 560 private firms. A further 40,000 are living with individual or family households under the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP). At present, there are 42,000 Ukrainians being hosted by Irish families or individuals who receive a €600 per month payment for allowing them to stay in their homes.
The meeting heard that one large provider in Dublin has 1,300 people from Ukraine living in it, costing the State €24 million last year. Sinn Fein TD Cathy Bennett, during the committee, criticised some Ukrainians living here who she said “have really good jobs, getting their rent paid” through the ARP.
TD: UKRAINIANS ON ‘VERY VERY GOOD SALARIES’ GETTING THEIR RENT PAID
Cathy Bennett TD said that while she commended people for opening up the homes, the way the accommodation payment scheme had operated had been a source of criticism, with the Government adjusting the payment multiple times.
The payment had started at €400 per month, and had soared to €800 per month, before being reduced to €600 per month in June 2025 “to try and get better value for the State” amid a perception that the scheme was interfering with the private rental market, Oonagh McPhillips of the Department of Justice told Ms Bennett. The Sinn Fein TD
In 2025, €187 million was paid out to 17,500 hosts for accommodating 42,000 people, said Ms McPhillips.
“The scheme has been very successful in accommodating people,” the official said.
Deputy Bennett said that the scheme had been successful for landlords that had been incentivised by the tax-free scheme.
“Why was there no tax? Why did the landlord not have to pay any tax?” she asked, to which the official responded: “It was a policy of Government at the time.”
“I have heard that there are people from Ukraine who have very, very good salaries, who are working here as doctors and nurses. And their landlords are still getting that payment, the ARP – there has been no means test done in relation to that, they automatically get it – they are automatically getting their rent paid,” she said.
It was confirmed that in such cases, there is no tenancy agreement in place between the host and the person staying in the property.
“Somebody who has come here from Ukraine and they are working and they have a really good job – their rent is still getting paid,” she said of the ARP.
The cost to the State for the scheme is €11 per night, with 42,000 people currently being accommodated this way.