There was no space for almost 400 asylum seekers in International Protection Service Accommodation (Ipas) centres on their arrival in the State last month, Department of Justice figures show.
With the system continuing to come under pressure, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan confirmed there was no bed available for 392 people who had arrived in the period to January 29th.
Some 387 asylum seekers were not accommodated in December, and there were no spaces for more than 400 in each of September, October and November.
O’Callaghan said his department “works at all times to ensure the limited accommodation capacity is used in the best and most effective way, prioritising those people who are most vulnerable or those with families”.
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He said a number of contingency beds must be “kept available for daily arrivals” and “people with health or other vulnerabilities”.
As of February 4th, there were 2,591 available beds across the Ipas system, comprising 2,000 in mixed accommodation centres, 343 family beds and 248 for single males.
The Minister said single male applicants “have been particularly affected by shortages of accommodation since 2022″. At the height of the issue in 2024, hundreds of men were sleeping in tents near the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin city.
“At a point, over 3,500 people in this group were awaiting an offer of accommodation,” said O’Callaghan. “Through an ongoing programme since March 2025, this has steadily reduced to 453 people currently awaiting an offer.”
He provided the figures in a response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.
Across the entire Ipas system, he said, “many beds are preassigned or out of use on a daily basis for essential reasons”. These included referrals from homeless outreach and for people due to move from centres that are closing.
“Beds may be out of use within the system for a range of reasons, including infection control, renovation or family-room configurations,” he added.
Since the end of 2024, people living in more than 300 Ipas centres countrywide have remained stable at about 33,000.
O’Callaghan said the “unprecedented increase in applications for asylum from 2022 to 2024 placed intense pressure on the accommodation system. It also gave rise to an undesirable situation where the State became increasingly dependent on private providers of accommodation.
“It is a very dynamic system, with more than 1,000 new applications every month, and on average 500 people moving into, out of, and around the accommodation system on a weekly basis.”
O’Callaghan said entrances to and exits from Ipas centres are “restricted due to pressure on suitable capacity for new arrivals, particularly single male applicants, and due to people who have completed their application process finding it hard to source accommodation outside the Ipas system”.
He said the system is this year working toward a goal of having 15 per cent of beds available at any given time.
A total of 13,160 people applied for asylum in the Republic last year, down from a record of 18,651 people the previous year.
