More IPAS centres closed in last seven months than entirety of 2024
The rise in closures comes amid concerns about the quality of accommodation provided for asylum seekers and poor governance structures.
A total of 490 beds have been removed from the system due to the closures, which the department of justice said is due to issues of non-compliance with regulations or contractual breaches. The figures from the department are up to late July.
There have been more IPAS contracts terminated over the last seven months than in the previous three years combined, with just one contract ended in each of 2022 and 2023 due to non-compliance.
'In all instances where the department enters into a contract with an accommodation provider, the onus is on the provider to ensure all standards at the property are within legal requirements, including but not limited to health and safety, fire, planning and building compliance,' a spokesperson for the department said.
When a contract is ended, all asylum seekers living in the impacted centres are moved to a new location. IPAS centres are subject to inspection and compliance checks throughout the lifetime of their contract.
The department also considers information brought to our attention about potential breaches of contracts or a reduction in the contractual standards required, and we take appropriate action if necessary.
'Resident welfare clinics and management support clinics are also routinely conducted in all accommodation settings. These clinics also serve to confirm standards are being met and maintained.'
There are currently 50 formal centres in operation around the country, which are accommodating 6,447 asylum seekers.
Of those, there are 2,119 children.
This does not include the 25,221 international protection applicants who are currently staying in emergency IPAS accommodation, or the 398 who are living in tented accommodation.
In total, across the State, there were a total of 32,689 people living in IPAS accommodation at the end of June.
Migrants rights non-profit Doras chief executive John Lannon said there are concerns about the quality of accommodation being provided for international protection applicants.
'When it comes to the emergency or temporary accommodation centres, there are certainly worrying levels of poor governance. In places, poor service delivery. There's insufficient oversight of standards,' Mr Lannon said.
He raised concerns that the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) do not have the mandate to inspect emergency IPAS centres operating across the country.
Mr Lannon said centres had been opened on a 'very ad hoc basis' and that some are now being closed, but beyond a notice of non-compliance there is little information as to why centres have been shuttered.
Even on the most basic level, it would seem that they weren't fit for purpose, but they have a lot of other centres that we would argue are not fit for purpose either.
Mr Lannon criticised the housing of some international protection applicants in tents, saying it has become 'normalised' in recent years.
'That's not adequate or appropriate. It never has been,' Mr Lannon said.
He called for the Government to expand the remit of Hiqa and allow the regulator to inspect emergency IPAS sites, saying the standards of accommodation must meet levels set out by EU directive.
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy said there are 'long-standing' concerns related to the granting of contracts for IPAS centres, particularly issues surrounding profiteering.
Mr Carthy, who received the information via parliamentary question, said the 'sharp rise' in contracts being terminated for non-compliance was concerning.
'This is very significant and suggests that there wasn't sufficient checks before contracts were granted to those seeking to profit from the governments failures in relation to international protection,' Mr Carthy said.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD said justice minister Jim O'Callaghan should provide more details surrounding the closure of the centres, calling for the Government to outline what the non-compliance issues were for each centre.
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