Government questioned over public money spent on empty offices and hotel rooms

Millions of euros spent on offices that were left empty, hotel rooms that went unused and beds for asylum seekers that were not provided, were all raised in the Dail on Wednesday as members of the opposition questioned Government overspending.

The body that examines public spending and tax collection, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, published its annual report on Tuesday.

TDs raised a number of issues it highlighted at Leaders’ Questions.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the report contained “breathtaking evidence of overcharging by private operators” who were awarded international protection applicants (IPAS) contracts.

She said the Government will spend 1.2 billion euro on IPAS contracts this year, and criticised the level of due diligence carried out and the way records were kept last year.

Ms McDonald said “signed contracts couldn’t be found in more than a third of the cases examined” and “proof of ownership of the properties or a copy of leases was provided in only 5% of the properties examined”.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan TD said the surge in the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Ireland in recent years had put pressure on the system.

He said the number had jumped from 7,683 in 2019 to 32,700 last year, excluding those who have arrived from Ukraine.

Mr O’Callaghan said “the pressures on the Government at the time resulted in contracts being entered into that we wouldn’t enter into now”.

He also said a number of contracts had been terminated with suppliers who had provided inadequate services.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Holly Cairns, questioned how 248,000 euro was spent on hotel rooms for gardai during the Uefa Europa League final in Dublin, which were unused.

She said it was an example of “public money flushed down the drain because of the same old story, no controls, no oversight, no accountability”.

Mr O’Callaghan said “that type of spending should not have occurred”, that gardai have accepted the report’s recommendations and will change the way they book hotel rooms in future.