Govt pays hotels and guest houses almost €500k a week to accommodate 1,453 asylum seekers
The State has paid hotels and guest houses an average of over €460,000 per week to the end of September this year to house the soaring numbers of asylum seekers in emergency accommodation.
According to new figures provided by the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, the spend on emergency accommodation from January to the end of September totals €18m - or an average of €462,046 per week.
Underlining the increasing use of emergency accommodation by the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), the €18m compares to just a fraction of that at €945,370 for the final quarter of last year.
In a written Dáil reply to Fianna Fáil’s Justice spokesman, Jim O’Callaghan, Minister Flanagan said that there are currently 1,453 applicants residing in 35 emergency accommodation locations, comprising of hotels and guest houses, around the country.
Minister Flanagan stated that his department does not disclose the specific location of emergency accommodation centres in order to protect the identity of international protection applicants.
Minister Flanagan told Deputy O’Callaghan: “Due to an unexpected rise in applications - up 53% in the first nine months of this year - the 38 existing accommodation centres, which offer accommodation, food, utilities and a suite of State services, have reached capacity.”
Currently, there are 6,094 people residing in the 38 accommodation centres located nationwide across 18 counties along with the further 1,453 applicants residing in the 35 emergency accommodation locations in hotels and guest houses.
Deputy O’Callaghan said today: “Asylum seekers should not be exposed to long-term stays in emergency accommodation.
“As well as being inappropriate, it is also a very wasteful use of limited State resources."
"The State should identify any State property that can be used for the purpose of providing accommodation for asylum seekers.”
Last week, the Minister for State at the Dept of Justice, David Stanton, said at a Budget press briefing that the budget for accommodating asylum seekers could be €60m over budget this year.
Minister Stanton said the extra demand placed on the asylum system this year meant that the State “could be looking at an extra €60m, €50-€60m” depending on the rest of the year.
He said this money was on top of the €70m allocated in Budget 2019 for this area.
In his written reply to Deputy O’Callaghan, Minister Flanagan said: “My Department is actively working on securing additional capacity, both in existing centres and through the sourcing of new centres.
"Every effort is being made to re-accommodate applicants residing in emergency locations to a dedicated accommodation centre as quickly as possible.”
