The State spent nearly €416 million on accommodation for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees during the first three months of 2025, according to the latest Government figures.
Cape Wrath Hotel Unlimited, the company that runs Dublin’s Citywest Hotel housing international protection applicants (IPAs) and Ukrainian refugees, received €18.7 million between January and March this year.
Earlier this week, the Government announced plans to purchase Citywest Hotel for more than €148 million, with the intention of making it a permanent processing centre for IPAs. The move forms part of an objective to provide 14,000 State-owned beds for asylum seekers by 2028 rather than relying on private providers.
The State has leased the 764-bed hotel and conference centre since 2020. It was initially used as a Covid-19 testing and vaccination centre before being converted to an accommodation and processing facility for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees in 2022.
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It is understood the Citywest transit hub has been used most recently to accommodate arrested adult deportees before they are moved to prisons in advance of their departure from the State.
Cape Wrath Hotel Unlimited received a €70.8 million in 2024 for housing IPAs and Ukrainian refugees at Citywest.
The Government spent a total of €415.8 million on IPA and Ukrainian refugee accommodation during the first three months of this year.
Some €269.5 million was spent on IPA accommodation, while €134.7 million went on Ukrainian refugee accommodation.
As quarterly purchase order figures published by the Government do not include payments below €20,000 or reimbursements to local authorities providing accommodation, the total spend may be higher.
The Holiday Inn at Dublin Airport, which is run by the Tifco Hotel Group in Ireland, was paid €8.5 million for IPA accommodation and associated costs during the first three months of this year.
Travelodge, also run by Tifco, was paid €8 million during the period, while Pumpkin Spice Limited, which runs Travelodge hotels, received €1.8 million.
An additional €3.6 million was paid directly to Tifco Ltd, according to purchase order records.
Mosney Holidays plc, which provides accommodation for between 500-600 IPAs and refugees at a former holiday resort in Co Meath, received €9.7 million between January and March.
East Coast Catering Ireland, which has an address in Dundalk and lists Denis Williams and Matthew O’Callaghan as its directors, was paid €7.5 million.
Brava Capital Ltd, the owners of purpose-built accommodation in Sligo, with a company registered in the Isle of Man, received €7.2 million.
Total Experience Ltd, which provides accommodation services only for Ukrainians, was paid €6.76 million, while Roscommon-based Bridgestock Care Ltd, which runs asylum seeker accommodation centres in Sligo, Mayo, Donegal and Clare, also received €6.76 million.
Kintrona Ltd, which has an address in Cork city and lists John Crean, David Kelly and Tony O’Neill as directors, was paid €6.2 million, while Allpro security services Ireland received €6 million.
A 2024 Irish Times investigation found the former directors of Allpro Security Services, Conor Nolan and Alan Connolly, had been convicted of tax offences. Both men resigned as directors of the company in June 2022 but remain shareholders, each holding 50 per cent of the business.
Brimwood Ltd, which is owned by former Monaghan GAA football manager Séamus “Banty” McEnaney and his daughters Sarah and Laura, received €5.6 million during the first three months of the year.
There are 32,704 IPAs, including 9,481 children, living in 328 State-provided accommodation centres across the country. Another 2,987 asylum-seeking men are awaiting an offer of State accommodation, according to the latest available data.
An average of 28 asylum seekers arrived into Ireland each day in May 2025, nearly half the average of 54 people who arrived each day in May 2024.
More than 114,700 Ukrainians have sought temporary protection in Ireland since the war with Russia began. However, the latest Central Statistics Office data indicates nearly 30 per cent of these have left the country.
