International Protection Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-25
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Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (SF), Wicklow-Wexford

We have to have transparency. There is the example of the two directors of a cafe which had a profit of €2,992. Three years later, they paid themselves €4.6 million. There is something very strange there. Looking at my area of County Wicklow, €1.3 million was spent on security for the vacant site of a failed IPAS centre. It is just a site sitting there. Deputy John Brady brought it into the public domain at a recent meeting of the public accounts committee.
The Comptroller and Auditor General's report has raised serious concerns about all of these things. There is very poor compliance and safety. For example, a demolition order was granted for 65 units that were built illegally by Seefin Events in Blessington, according to what I have read. There is huge profiteering and overcharging. We had an instance of a VAT overcharge of €7.4 million by one company to the State and the taxpayer. There is a complete lack of due diligence. No one in their right mind can oppose transparency in these contracts. There has to be transparency.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-25