Costs to house asylum seekers surged by €14 million

ASYLUM SEEKER accommodation costs surged by €14 million last year as would-be refugees rushed to “beat the deadline” for an Irish born child, the Justice Department admitted last night.

Housing outlays soared from a planned-for €69m to over €83m, partly due to a clamour to reach Ireland before the contentious citizenship referendum, the department’s Secretary General Sean Aylward told TDs.

Explaining the increase to the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, Mr Aylward said asylum accommodation was always a fluid area of expenditure, but special factors caused such a big spike last year.