Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 May 2025
341. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Justice to provide information on the total number of people currently residing in IPAS centres in County Wicklow; the number in each IPAS centre in the county, by sex, by nationality and by age ranges, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22589/25]
View answerThe State is currently accommodating over 33,000 people who have applied for international protection in Ireland, about 9,000 of whom are children with their families.
The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) provides accommodation in 325 centres around the country, in every county.
As of 13 April 2025, there are 1,468 people who are international protection (IP) applicants residing in County Wicklow.
Since 2024, IPAS has not published details of the specific locations or the capacity or occupancy of our accommodation centres.
This is due to both safety and security concerns, and to protect the privacy of IP applicants in line with legal obligations under the International Protection Act 2015.
Under Section 26 of the Act, the right to confidentiality of an IP applicant's identity is protected. Section 26(1) states that "The Minister and the Tribunal and their respective officers shall take all practicable steps to ensure that the identity of applicants is kept confidential".
IPAS releases weekly statistics in relation to IP applicants accommodated by IPAS. This includes a per county breakdown of where IP applicants are residing and a wide range of other details including gender and nationality.
These statistics are located on the Gov.ie website: www.gov.ie/en/international-protection-accommodation-services-ipas/publications/facts-and-figures/.
