More than a thousand people in Ipas centres have been told to leave by early July as they are “no longer entitled” to live there, prompting fears of a surge in demand for homelessness accommodation.
The International Protection Accommodation Service (Ipas), which is housing more than 30,000 people, issued letters in March to residents, including 473 families, who have been recognised as refugees or granted the right to remain in the State, telling to leave by the summer.
The letters, also sent to “approximately 700″ single adults, were issued despite senior Department of Housing officials warning the Department of Justice of their serious concerns about a “risk of homelessness among those who will receive the letter”.
The letters are described as “similar” to those sent to more than 1,000 households living in Ipas centres last year.
The letters sent last year told 594 families and 590 single adults that, as they had legal status for at least a year in the case of families, or at least six months in single adults’ cases, they should “make necessary arrangements” to leave their accommodation by July 4th, 2025.
If they could not source accommodation independently they would be offered “emergency Ipas accommodation” but not in their current location, the letter stated.
Hundreds of people presented directly to homelessness services, particularly in Dublin, leading to warnings that children could end up sleeping rough as local authorities struggled to meet demand.
More than half the single adults were told to leave Ipas centres in Dublin, with a fifth of the families in centres in the capital.
Mary Hayes, director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, last month told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that more than 1,300 people who had left direct provision sought emergency accommodation in Dublin over the last two years.
Presentations from direct provision were the “single biggest driver” of new homelessness among single adults, she said.
Correspondence released under Freedom of Information legislation underlines serious concerns at the Department of Housing about a repeat of last year’s scenes in the coming months.
On January 7th, in an email titled “Direct Provision Exits in 2026”, a senior housing official contacted a counterpart in the Department of Justice.
“We are keen to ascertain if IPAS intends issuing letters to people with status who are required to exit IPAS accommodation in 2026, as happened in March 2025. If the answer is yes, could you please let us know the intended timeline for issuing those letters?” they asked.
The justice official responded on January 14th, writing: “Yes, we intend to write to families with status over one year in the coming weeks notifying of transfer in the summer of 2026.”
On January 20th, Rosemarie Tobin, principal officer in charge of homelessness policy at the Department of Housing, asked for more details. “We are considering what extra steps can be taken to reduce the risk of homelessness among those who will receive the letter,” she said.
Depaul, one of two charities contracted to support people to transfer out of Ipas accommodation, called for “a pause in this policy” of telling people they must leave or transfer to emergency Ipas accommodation far from their community.
“In most cases the families are housing-ready and have been receiving support from staff, but have not been successful in securing a tenancy given the current housing crisis, discrimination and lack of rental history,” said a spokeswoman.
A Department of Justice spokesman said Ipas accommodation was “under significant pressure”. It was housing more than 33,000 people of whom more than 5,000 had legal status.
“This means they are no longer entitled to Ipas accommodation,” he said.
Given the pressure for beds, especially among single adults, Ipas “must prioritise accommodation for international protection applicants who are entitled to accommodation under the Reception Conditions Regulations”.
“It is not sustainable for the system to continue accommodating individuals indefinitely who have already been granted status,” he said.