Over €91m in direct provision contracts in breach of public spending laws 

Lucky Khambule, co-founder of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, said: “No matter who is going to run accommodation for asylum seekers, it should not be for profit."

More than €91m paid by the State to private contractors for the creation and operation of direct provision centres was in breach of public spending laws.

Groups representing asylum seekers and refugees say the revelation is further proof of "the huge cost of a failing system".

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth assumed overall responsibility for the running of the direct provision system in October 2020 from the Department of Justice.

It found that €91m worth of direct provision contracts awarded by its predecessor to commercial accommodation providers breached public expenditure law as the deals were awarded without a full e-tenders process. E-tenders is the State portal by which private companies and individuals bid for public contracts.

The monies related to 151 separate contracts, Fergal Lynch, secretary-general of the Department of Children, told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). 

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, the Department of Justice did not address the issue, saying only that the Department of Children now has “sole responsibility” for the contracts, and any queries are a matter for that body alone.

Lucky Khambule, co-founder of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, said: “No matter who is going to run accommodation for asylum seekers, it should not be for profit.

“We have always had questions about the process of how these contracts were awarded."

Migrant rights centre NASC said it was “pleased” at the Department of Children’s move given the historical “lack of transparency” around the awarding of direct provision contracts, and said the €91 million figure served to highlight “the huge cost of a failing system”.

The deficiencies came to the fore last year when it emerged the now-closed centre at the Skellig Star Hotel in Cahersiveen had “been subjected to no more than a cursory in-person inspection before the contract was awarded”.

The €91m in contracts related to the provision of direct provision centres and their management.

Mr Lynch said the Direct Provision deals had been examined when his Department took responsibility for them, and that notwithstanding the Department of Justice’s view that the contracts were competitive, he nevertheless felt compelled to list them as being the opposite.

He said his Department has now “taken steps to ensure that procurement is fully compliant in future”.