The government is now paying an average of 42 million euro every month on refugee accommodation.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)Five companies were paid over 100 million euro to provide accommodation to asylum seekers and refugees over a six month period last year.
The Irish Mail on Sunday reports the government paid out a total of over 650 million euro to 184 companies bill between January and June 2023.
The government is now paying an average of 42 million euro every month on refugee accommodation.
It comes as the ministers attempt to source six large-scale accommodation centres, to help meet the current shortage.
The government is facing increasing pressure to stop relying on hotels for asylum seeker accommodation.
Executive Editor at the Irish Mail, John Lee says the government is playing catch-up:
"They are so far behind the curve on this it's incredible, they're tone has changed.
"The kind of thing they were saying to me was 'ah these people protesting, they're just a bunch of racists.'
"They seem to feel it was a small number of people and they ignored it."
