A NEW REPORT has found that 35% of staff working in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres inspected were not properly Garda vetted.

It was also found that 37% did not have policies and procedures in place to protect residents from harm and abuse.

That’s according to the Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) one-year overview report on the monitoring of accommodation centres, which comprised 60 inspections across 51 centres.

The Garda vetting issue needs “urgent attention”, the report said, as inspectors questioned the status of a “significant number of staff members”.

Vetting includes references from previous employers, garda checks and international police checks where required.

The report also found that 61% of accommodation centres did not have a system in place to assess the needs and vulnerability of residents, and 45% did not have mechanisms to monitor residents identified as having “a special reception need”.

It said many centres are in hotels and the transition from a hospitality service to an IPAS accommodation provider “has challenged many of them”. This has led to sub par governance and oversight.

This, coupled with an absence of proper risk management, means service providers “cannot be assured of the safety of their accommodation centres”.

However, HIQA found that many centres were of a good standard and the services were safe, of a high quality and promoted and protected the rights of residents.

Most adults, children and young people reported generally positive experiences living in accommodation centres.

The report also highlighted national failings and the need for State support for centres to keep up with standards.

Bronagh Gibson, HIQA’s Head of Programme for Monitoring IPAS Centres, said: “Our inspections throughout 2024 showed that the current system of international protection accommodation is not adequately resourced to meet demand.”

The report found that 41% of residents in HIQA-inspected accommodation centres had received refugee status or had valid permission to remain in Ireland but continued to live in centres due to a lack of alternatives.

Need more clarity and context on how migration is being discussed in Ireland? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.