Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 February 2013
270. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the overall budget for the Reception and Integration Agency, including a breakdown of the cost of inspections, transfers and staffing; if the weekly allowance received by asylum seekers is part of this budget, and if not, from which budget does it come; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7817/13]
View answerRIA is a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department, responsible for the accommodation of persons while their applications for international protection are being processed. Currently there are 4,836 persons accommodated throughout the State in 35 centres under contract to RIA.
Expenditure on the direct provision accommodation services in 2012 was €62.3m. A breakdown of this expenditure will be included in RIA's 2012 Annual Report which will be published later this year. This breakdown will be along the lines of the expenditure breakdown shown in the RIA Annual Reports from 2007 to 2011 inclusive, which are available on its website - www.ria.gov.ie.
In terms of Department of Justice and Equality staff, the total pay element for 2012 was €1,527,822, including pension contributions. The total operating costs for the administration of RIA in 2012, including pay above, was just over €1.7m.
The movement of residents through the dispersal and transfer system, as well as inspections, are an integral part of the functions of RIA staff and it is not possible to differentiate staffing costs between these separate functions. It should be noted that inspections are carried out not just by RIA staff, but also by an independent assessment company, QTS Ltd. Payments to QTS in 2012, amounted to €21,678.25. The Deputy should note that I have answered another Dáil Question (8005/13) today on the subject of QTS Ltd.
The weekly direct provision allowance to asylum seekers is administered by the Community Welfare Service of the Department of Social Protection. It is paid from the DSP Vote, not from any Vote under my aegis.
