14. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the action he will take in relation profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, including in the context of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's annual report about the spending of public money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53889/25]

Sentiment score: 0.19

Will the Minister of State outline actions he is going to take in relation to profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, especially in the aftermath of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report about the spending of public money?

Sentiment score: 0.05

This review is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to address profiteering and cost overruns within the IPAS system. The report outlines evidence of private operators overcharging for the provision of accommodation, including companies charging for beds that were not provided and charging VAT in circumstances where accommodation is exempt from VAT, signed contracts and proof of ownership going missing and no copies of leases. There seem to have been no records kept whatsoever in many cases. One operator overcharged the State to the tune of €7.4 million in respect of VAT, yet still has a Government contract. The report outlined that in this case the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has stated recovery of the remaining VAT overcharged is under review. Does the Minister of State take responsibility for this blatant abuse of taxpayers' money? What actions has he taken to ensure that this money is returned to the State? Will there be a review of all IPAS accommodation contracts?

Sentiment score: -0.09

The Minister of State has thrown around a lot of blame instead of accepting that he and his Department are responsible for this waste of taxpayers' money. Where is the oversight on the part of the Department? I fear the report has revealed only a fraction of what has been happening. The Minister of State needs to get to grips with the issue and put an end to the squandering of public money. The Minister of State stated that contracts are reviewed when they have concluded. Why is there no review during the lifetime of the contracts, especially when the Minister of State has been provided with this kind of evidence? It should be obvious that where there is evidence of mismanagement of taxpayers' money, contracts should be ended. Given the level of mismanagement revealed, does the Department intend to review all IPAS accommodation contracts to ensure there is no further abuse of taxpayers' money?

Sentiment score: -0.18