State spending on accommodation for International Protection (IP) applicants and Ukrainian refugees from commercial providers was €104 million lower in the first quarter of this year than in the same period in 2025.
Figures published by the Department of Justice show €300 million was spent on such accommodation from the start of the year to the end of March, an average of €3.3 million per day.
The three-month spend was 26 per cent lower than in the first three months of last year, when the bills came to a total of more than €404 million.
The bulk of the reduction concerned spending on commercial accommodation for Ukrainian people, which fell from €131.74 million in the first quarter of last year to €61.42 million this year, a 54 per cent drop.
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Under a Government policy brought into force last November, new arrivals from Ukraine are accommodated in Designated Accommodation Centres (DACs) for a maximum of 30 days.
The Cabinet earlier this week agreed that most of the 16,000 Ukrainian people living in State-contracted commercial accommodation would be required to find alternative homes by next March. The measures are to be introduced on a phased basis from August, though vulnerable individuals who wish to remain in such accommodation will be permitted to do so.
Commercial providers of accommodation for IP applicants received €239.1 million, a reduction of more than €30 million in comparison to the same period last year.
The State is currently accommodating more than 33,000 people who have applied for international protection, with the figure including some 9,000 children.
Accommodation is provided in more than 300 centres nationwide. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan confirmed to Independent TD Carol Nolan TD in a recent written Dáil reply that there are currently 562 High Court judicial reviews being taken by IP applicants against decisions made by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal.
Purchase Order figures from the department show a number of firms continue to generate millions per quarter for accommodating IP applicants.
Tetrarch Capital last August agreed to sell the Citywest Hotel in west Co Dublin, one of the largest such accommodation centres, to the State for €148 million.
The figures show that a Tetrarch firm, Cape Wrath UC, received payments of more than €11 million as part of a 12-month transitional contract where it continues to manage the Citywest centre on behalf of the State.
Other firms that received large sums for accommodating IP applicants included Mosney UC (€9.6 million); Holiday Inn Dublin Airport Skyline View Ltd (€8.4 million), the operator of the Moran Red Cow hotel, Guestford Ltd (€7.75 million) and AllPro Security Services Ltd (€6.6 million)
The figures also show that Bridgestock Care Ltd received €8.5 million for accommodating IP applicants and Ukrainian people.
