Eight international protection accommodation contracts terminated in first four months of 2025
Seven International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) contracts with commercial accommodation providers were ended in the first four months of the year for reasons including noncompliance with planning, fire safety and other regulations, the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, has said.
More than 90 per cent of all international protection accommodation is provided on a commercial basis, with hotels, B&Bs and other centres taking up contracts to provide beds for people arriving in the State seeking asylum.
This reliance on private providers led to the Government spending more than €1 billion on international protection accommodation last year. The budget for this year is €1.2 billion.
Concerns have been raised about standards at some private accommodation centres, which are not all subject to independent inspections.
READ MORE
Mr O'Callaghan has said his preference is for international protection applicants to be housed in State-owned accommodation.
Figures released by his department in response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon show that between January 1st and May 7th last, eight contracts with private accommodation providers were terminated. This represented 140 bed spaces.
The department said seven of the contracts were ended by the State side, with one terminated by the provider.
'I am informed that reasons for termination can vary but can include noncompliance with contractual terms or with regulatory requirements like building and fire regulations or planning matters,' Mr O'Callaghan said.
'In the same period, 12 new IPAS accommodation contracts have been agreed, accounting for capacity of up to 848 bed spaces.'
[
International protection overhaul an 'important step' in wider reform, Minister says
Opens in new window
]
Mr O'Callaghan said the commissioning of emergency commercial accommodation 'will continue to be necessary' in the short to medium term, but it is being contracted on a short-term basis to allow the 'State to decommission this capacity with agility as contracts expire or demand fluctuates'.
Mr Gannon said he had sought figures on the numbers of IPAS contracts that were ending following a media interview given by Mr O'Callaghan last month.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, the Minister said 'many' of the agreements with private providers were 'now being terminated'. He said this was 'because if the numbers are going down, we don't need to have as many places for accommodation as provided before'.
Mr Gannon said the figures released to him showed there had, in reality, been more contracts created than ended this year.
'So, far from winding things down, the system is expanding,' Mr Gannon said.
While he welcomed planned reforms such as faster processing times for international protection applications, Mr Gannon said the fairness of the system matters 'just as much' as the speed of it.
'The truth is, Ireland is already failing to meet its legal obligations. In December, over 3,000 asylum seekers were left homeless,' he said.
'In April, the European Court of Justice confirmed that housing shortages are no excuse for denying basic care. We can't afford to play politics with facts, or with people's lives. The real issue isn't too many beds, it's too little planning, too much reliance on the private sector, and not enough focus on human rights and dignity at the core of the system.'
In April, the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner said IPAS centres had been the subject of six whistleblowing allegations last year. It said these centres were an 'emerging theme' for the office and it raised concerns about 'the lack of uniformity of the inspection regime' for them.
The Department of Justice said: 'Owing to the protected nature of protected disclosures, the department does not comment on whether such disclosures have been made in any specific instance.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Pasta the Italian nonna way: ‘Spaghetti alla bolognese does not exist'
'No, no, no!' exclaims an affronted Monica Venturi at the idea that anybody might attempt to pass off spaghetti bolognese as an authentically Italian dish. Her face is stricken at the thought of adding ragù (meat sauce) to spaghetti and then misnaming it, when, as everybody in her hometown of Bologna knows instinctively, 'spaghetti alla bolognese does not exist'. Monica, as a decades-long veteran pasta-maker along with her sister Daniela Venturi, does not invite argument on her specialist subject. In fact, the sisters explain, the real spaghetti alla bolognese is made with tuna, tomato and onion, topped off with fresh parsley. And although tuna is a fish, and Italians generally shy away from cheese on seafood, they like to add parmesan. This is because, says Monica, 'for Bolognesi people, tuna is not a fish'. READ MORE The pasta-making duo are in Dublin as part of a partnership with Birra Moretti which will see them host a two-night pop-up Nonna's Kitchen at the end of July. At home in Bologna, they run a classic pasta shop, Le Sfogline, where they handmake as much as 60kg of fresh pasta on their busiest week. In the pasta business for almost 30 years and both having nonna (grandmother) status, the sisters know everything about how it should be cooked, eaten and enjoyed. For the record, the authentic version of the food Irish people like to call spaghetti bolognese is tagliatelle al ragù, ribbon-shaped pasta with slow-cooked meat sauce. The sisters warn that even if you know this, it's dangerously easy to fall down with the ingredients by using too much of the base mix of celery, carrots and onions. 'You must be aware of this because if you put in too much, it becomes very heavy. And you only taste the three vegetables. This is a mistake I've noticed,' says Monica. Warming to the theme of non-expert pasta gaffes, Monica says the other area where we often tip ourselves into absolute failure is overcooking pasta. Obeying the 'al dente' (literally, to the tooth) rule, where pasta is cooked just to the point of firmness before veering into sogginess, is crucial, the sisters agree. This is especially true for their fresh pasta with eggs, says Daniela. 'It cooks very fast.' Monica (right) and Daniela Venturi in Drury Buildings, Dublin 1. The sisters, who run one of Bologna's most successful pasta shops, have strong feelings on how it should be made and eaten. Photograph: Dan Dennison And then we get to lasagne, or lasagna – the lasagna is a single layer of sheet pasta, while lasagne is the plural. There is disapproval on the sisters' faces when they acknowledge that people in France sometimes eat the dish with a mixed salad, but sheer disbelief when they're told it is generally served with chips in Ireland. News of garlic bread often being heaped on the side as well prompts such uncomfortable laughter that it seems wise to avoid talk of coleslaw. Daily lasagne-maker Daniela, who says she still can't resist sampling her wares after all these years, isn't giving up on us though. She has a key tip on how to handle béchamel, the white sauce used between lasagna layers. 'You don't see béchamel when lasagne is ready to eat,' she says, with Monica adding that the sauce is there 'for keeping lasagne just a little bit softer'. In other words, a little white sauce goes a long way. The bread and butter of their business though is tortellini, the small ring-shaped pasta filled with meat that was historically served by Bolognesi at Christmas but is now sold and eaten all year round. The main rule here is to avoid smothering the golden circles of deliciousness in heavy sauces. In fact, you should probably avoid the sauce altogether, and serve it simply 'in brodo', or broth. This makes sense when you hear of the richness that goes into making the sisters' top-end tortellini: 'Pork loin cooked in butter, mortadella, Parma ham, Parmigiano 36 months old, eggs – it's that rich that you cannot hide with a sauce,' says Monica. However, she does admit to occasionally succumbing to a light sauce involving some grated parmesan, two or three spoons of the traditional broth that accompanies the tortellini and fresh cream, but says 'just a little' is plenty. 'Personally, I don't like to cover something with sauce even if it's good.' She also likes to mop up sauces with bread, believing politeness has no place in such matters. Despite being Bologna's queens of home-made pasta, the Venturi sisters do not scoff at dried pasta, especially with fish, which they say does not combine well with the eggs in fresh pasta. Unsurprisingly though, not every dried pasta passes muster. Both recommend Pasta di Gragnano, which is made by mixing durum wheat grown at the Monti Lattari in southern Italy with the local waters. Where this isn't available, a good rule of thumb, according to Monica, is to go with dried pasta with longer cooking times. In general, she says she is fairly 'straight' when it comes to Italian recipes, believing there's no reason to mess around with them when they are already proven. She shudders at 'terrible' innovations such as adding pineapple to pizza, while Daniela is ashen at the idea of 'pizza with chips'. So, after all these years of making pasta for the people of their native city, do the sisters still eat it every day? 'Oh, yeah,' they reply instantly, with the small qualification that they limit portion sizes to about 200g and avoid 'a huge amount' of sauce. They like to try other foods when travelling however, singling out Ireland's 'wonderful meat' for praise but expressing dismay at paying €4 or more for a coffee in Dublin, when a good cup can still be found for ... wait for it ... €1.30 in Bologna. Birra Moretti's Nonna's Kitchen will take place at Fumbally Stables, Dublin 8, on July 23rd and 24th. Tickets at €30 will be sold on Eventbrite from July 3rd
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Keir Starmer facing Labour rebellion on Tuesday despite caving in on disability benefit cuts
Keir Starmer 's Labour government could yet face a big rebellion by backbench MPs on Tuesday over disability benefit cuts, despite a U-turn to stave off what would have been certain defeat. The prime minister's Downing Street team believed on Monday it had conceded enough to win a crucial vote on proposed cuts to personal independence payments (Pip), top-up benefits paid to disabled people. Many Labour rebels, however, indicated they could still oppose the plans in a House of Commons vote due late on Tuesday. They accused Downing Street of 'rowing back' on concessions agreed last week. Mr Starmer must now wait to see if he has done enough to nudge the proposed cuts over their first parliamentary hurdle. As many as 50 Labour MPs may still rebel, which would allow it to squeak through. If his Bill falls, however, grumbling over the direction of the government will grow. READ MORE The proposed cuts to restrict eligibility for Pip, part of a package originally designed to save £5 billion (€5.8 billion) from the UK's welfare bill, sparked easily the biggest domestic crisis of Mr Starmer's premiership and have eroded his authority. Downing Street had argued the cost of benefits was unsustainable and suggested it was 'immoral' to keep some disabled people 'trapped' on them instead of in work. Despite a working majority of more than 165 over the opposition, the plans came awry when at least 120 Labour rebels threatened to switch sides and inflict defeat on the government with a so-called 'wrecking amendment' to kill off the proposals. Even the government's impact assessment of its original proposals estimated it would push 250,000 people into relative poverty. Rebels complained that the government ignored their concerns about this for weeks. Many blamed Mr Starmer's Cork-born chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, for focusing too much on harsh benefits policies to appease right-leaning Reform UK supporters. Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves, whose strict self-imposed fiscal rules have boxed in Labour on spending, also became a lightning rod for criticism. When it became obvious last week that the rebels had the numbers to kill off the proposals, Downing Street backed down and offered £2.5 billion worth of concessions to appease the so-called 'soft left' faction at the heart of the Labour backbench mutiny. The declared group of rebel MPs included 13 committee chairs, such as Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the powerful House of Commons treasury committee; she tabled the original wrecking amendment. Other prominent rebels included Debbie Abrahams, chairwoman of the work and pensions committee, who negotiated the concessions last week. Another Labour MP, Vicky Foxcroft, quit as a government whip to join the rebellion. All three were prominent among Labour MPs who continued to challenge the government on Monday afternoon, when work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall addressed the Commons to outline a series of concessions designed to win the vote. 'We have listened carefully [to backbenchers] and we are making positive changes,' said Ms Kendall. She confirmed the changes to Pip eligibility would not apply to existing claimants, a concession agreed last week. She also confirmed, however, plans to press ahead with new Pip assessment criteria next year, without waiting for the results of a review due around the same time. Ms Abrahams, a key rebel negotiator, had earlier told ITV this was not what had been agreed. Outside of the parliamentary party, other senior Labour figures such as London mayor Sadiq Khan and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the concessions had not gone far enough. It was only a '50 per cent U-turn', said Mr Burnham, as he urged his MP colleagues to vote down the government's proposals.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
As summer heats up, the controversy over one teacher's claims of homophobia is boiling over
As Berlin braces itself for 35-degree days this week, the summer break cannot come soon enough for the capital's schoolchildren and teachers who are stuck in their classrooms for another month. Nowhere more than the Carl Bolle primary school. Temperatures have been rising steadily here after five months of revelations that, by comparison, make television's gritty Grange Hill look like Enid Blyton's Malory Towers. Last February Oziel Inácio-Stech, a 43-year-old Brazilian-born former teacher, announced he was suing the school and the local educational authority. He alleged they failed to support him when he subjected to a sustained campaign of homophobic bullying led by a group of pupils from mostly Muslim families. When Inácio-Stech's sexuality became known in the school, fifth-class pupils allegedly mocked him variously as a 'disgusting' person who was going to hell. Others, he said, called him a 'moral disgrace' to a school where, as one student reportedly said, 'Islam is the boss'. READ MORE Inácio-Stech left the school last September, citing concerns over his mental and physical health. Rather than go quietly, however, he has taken a lawyer to challenge what he sees as lax school controls, a powerless school board and, most critically, a disinterested state education minister. Supercharging the slow-burning story in recent days, however, are claims by Inácio-Stech that he was the subject of a complaint by a former colleague that he was 'too close' to some of the primary school students. The unnamed woman teacher reported him after seeing him sitting on cushions alongside two students, watching a smartphone video. After failed mediation attempts, Inacio-Stech left the school and launched legal action claiming at least two breaches of Berlin's anti-discrimination code. First: for allegedly failing to act on his complaints of homophobic discrimination. Second: its quick action in responding to the woman teacher's concerns about a homosexual teacher's physical proximity to students. The latter complaint appears to have evaporated: the two students in question later revoked their testimony of feeling 'uncomfortable' around Inacio-Stech. In documents seen by public broadcaster RBB, they said they were 'persuaded' by the unnamed teacher to make their remarks. Though a criminal complaint against Inacio-Stech has been dropped, the relevant Berlin school authority has yet to fully rehabilitate him. Unable to teach elsewhere as a result, Inacio-Stech went public with his case last February – infuriating Berlin's school authorities even further. After five months of revelations but no progress, tensions have ramped up further over claims that the woman who filed the complaint against Inácio-Stech was a regular drug user during work hours. Investigations by two Berlin newspapers, a national newspaper and even a public broadcaster indicate the concerns about this woman teacher were shared by at least six other colleagues at the school. They claim she had cocaine and ecstasy delivered to the school, consumed during school hours and, at times, had 'wide-open eyes'. Several teachers say they reported their concerns about the teacher to the school director, with no action taken. The Tagesspiegel newspaper reported at the weekend that the teacher in question was still working at the school and she declined to confirm or deny the drug allegations it put to her. The scandal has reached the highest political level in Berlin state politics: the capital's education senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch. Three weeks ago she accused opposition politicians of 'populism' over the case and insisted there were 'discrepancies' between the teacher's public claims of bullying by students and information in his personnel file. On Monday several opposition politicians were granted access to the file, bringing the scandal back to its roots. The personnel file appears to confirm the main details of the teacher's original complaint and contains a protocol of a meeting between him and the school personnel officer. The latter appears to acknowledge tacitly the problem of homophobia, noting the 'above-average number of children from traditional parental homes' – a nod to the large number of families with Turkish and Arab roots – which could 'possibly complicate the acceptance of diversity'. Blaming the victim for school homophobia is not uncommon in Germany , according to the Federal Association of Queer Education. It said that 'queer-hostile attitudes are now more vehement in the context of school than a few years ago'. A survey by a Berlin state body for queer education issues found that 82 per cent of non-heterosexual adolescents experienced discrimination at school while 52 per cent hid their identity. Though the group said 'queer hostility has reached a new high' in Berlin schools, the capital's city-state government has cut the group's budget by a third.
