Living in Direct Provision and the conditions aren't safe or dignified? You have free legal advice and a clear complaint pathway through the Office of the Ombudsman.

If unsafe right now

The protection process and the complaint pathway are designed for situations that play out over weeks. If something is happening to you tonight, deal with that first.

• Immediate physical danger — assault, threats, sexual violence, a fire, or someone breaking into your room — dial An Garda Síochána on 999 or 112. Garda jurisdiction does not stop at the centre gate. Calling Garda will not affect your International Protection application under IPA 2015.
• Walk to the nearest Garda station if you cannot call from inside the centre. Bring photo ID and any evidence (photographs, messages, names of witnesses). Ask for and write down the PULSE incident number.
• Non-emergency healthcare — call HSE Live on 1800 700 700 or your out-of-hours GP on 111. As an International Protection applicant you are entitled to basic medical care under the reception conditions framework, including GP access and medication.
• Tell one trusted person outside the centre where you are and what has happened. A friend, fellow applicant, NGO caseworker, or solicitor can be a contact for Garda or the HSE if you cannot reach them yourself.
• Preserve evidence. Photograph injuries, the condition of the room, broken locks, mould, vermin, food, or any other physical issue. Photo metadata (date / time) is later used by the Ombudsman and by IHREC.

The accommodation entitlement — IPA 2015 s.53 and SI 230/2018

Your accommodation entitlement is not discretionary. It is set out in section 53 of the International Protection Act 2015 and the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 (SI 230/2018), which transpose the EU Reception Conditions Directive into Irish law. Together these instruments establish what IPAS must provide.

• Accommodation itself. IPAS provides accommodation to International Protection applicants — direct provision centres, emergency accommodation, and, since 2024, an expanded range of premises housing approximately 32,000 applicants nationwide.
• Food and board. Three meals per day, or equivalent self-catering provision where the centre is configured for that. The reception conditions framework requires the meals and board to be adequate in quantity and nutritional content.
• Daily expenses allowance. A weekly material reception conditions payment to cover personal expenses. Paid through the Department of Social Protection.
• Basic medical care. Access to a GP and to medication, an HSE medical card on application, and referral to secondary care where clinically needed. Mental-health support is part of the basic-medical-care entitlement.
• School transport and education. For applicants with school-age children, IPAS funds school transport where the nearest school is beyond reasonable walking distance. Children have full access to primary and post-primary education.
• Right to work — IPA 2015 s.16 / SI 230/2018. International Protection applicants who have been waiting five months or more on a first-instance decision under IPA 2015 s.39 are entitled to apply for a labour-market access permission. The right to work is separate from the accommodation entitlement — neither one cancels the other.

A condition that falls below the reception conditions standard — unsafe rooms, inadequate food, denial of medical care, denial of school transport, or denial of a labour-market access permission once eligible — is a breach. Document it and start the complaint pathway below.

The complaint pathway — IPAS internal complaints → Office of the Ombudsman

The standard pathway for a conditions complaint about IPAS accommodation has two formal stages. Use the IPAS internal route first; if the response is inadequate or absent, escalate to the statutory Office of the Ombudsman.

• Stage 1 — IPAS internal complaint. Put the complaint in writing to IPAS. Email [email protected] or call 01 418 3200. State (a) the centre name and your applicant reference, (b) the specific facts, (c) the dates, (d) what you have already tried with centre management, and (e) the outcome you want. Keep a copy of everything — you will need it for stage 2.
• Give IPAS a reasonable opportunity to respond. IPAS operates a complaints procedure that includes an acknowledgement and a substantive response. If you receive no response within a reasonable period, or the response does not address the conditions, that is the trigger for escalation.
• Stage 2 — Office of the Ombudsman. Call 01 639 5600 or email [email protected]. The Ombudsman's jurisdiction explicitly includes IPAS-run direct provision and emergency accommodation. The Ombudsman investigates maladministration — including failure to deliver on the reception conditions standard — and can recommend a remedy.
• Time limit. A complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman must usually be made within 12 months of the matter you are complaining about, or within 12 months of the date you first became aware of it. The Ombudsman has limited discretion to accept a complaint outside the time limit but do not rely on it.
• The complaint is free. There is no fee at either stage. You do not need a solicitor to complain to IPAS or to the Ombudsman, though free legal advice (Irish Refugee Council, Doras, NASC, AkiDwa) is available and can help you draft the complaint.

The Ombudsman cannot decide your International Protection application — that is for the International Protection Office and IPAT under IPA 2015. The Ombudsman addresses your accommodation conditions and the way IPAS has administered them.

Free legal advice — IRC, Doras, NASC, AkiDwa

Free legal advice is available throughout the protection process and the conditions-complaint pathway. None of the services below charge for casework on IPA 2015 applications, IPAT appeals, or IPAS conditions complaints.

• Irish Refugee Council — 01 764 5854. The largest independent NGO providing free legal advice to International Protection applicants in Ireland. Dedicated legal advice clinic for IPA 2015 applications, IPAT appeals, family reunification, and IPAS conditions. National coverage; strategic casework on systemic issues.
• Doras (Limerick) — 061 310 328. Free integration and advocacy support for International Protection applicants and refugees in the Mid-West. Particularly useful if your IPAS centre is in Limerick / Clare / Tipperary. Email [email protected].
• NASC — Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre (Cork) — 021 427 3594. Free legal and casework support for International Protection applicants and migrants in Cork and the South-West. Information clinics on IPA 2015, family reunification, and IPAS conditions. Particularly useful if your centre is in Cork / Kerry / Waterford.
• AkiDwa — 01 834 9851. National network of migrant women living in Ireland. Particular expertise in gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and the specific reception-conditions issues that affect women in IPAS accommodation — room-sharing, privacy, safety, access to female-only spaces, maternity care.
• What to bring. Your IPAS reference, your international-protection applicant card, a copy of any IPAS decision or correspondence, your tenancy / centre placement letter, photographs of conditions, and a written timeline of events.

Strategic complaints — IHREC 01 858 9601

The IPAS internal complaint and the Office of the Ombudsman both address your case. For matters that go beyond your case — a pattern of conduct affecting many applicants in your centre, alleged discrimination on a protected ground, or a systemic breach of the reception conditions framework — the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is the right destination.

• When to use IHREC. Where the issue is wider than an individual conditions problem — centre-wide discrimination, segregation, denial of services to a class of applicants, the interaction between IPAS placement and equality grounds (race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation).
• Contact. Call 01 858 9601 or visit ihrec.ie. IHREC can refer matters into legal action, take strategic litigation in its own name, or use its statutory powers to require information from a public body.
• Compatible with the Ombudsman route. Filing with IHREC does not stop you from also filing an IPAS internal complaint or an Ombudsman complaint. The three routes address different things — they do not exclude each other.
• Evidence helps. IHREC's strategic team relies on documentary evidence — written complaints, photographs, patterns across applicants, formal responses (or non-responses) from IPAS. Keep everything in one folder.

The protection process — IPA 2015 + IPAT

A conditions complaint does not affect your International Protection application, and the application timeline does not affect your right to make a conditions complaint. They are separate. Here is the procedural map.

• IPA 2015 s.15 — application. The application for international protection is made to the International Protection Office (IPO). On receipt of the application, you are issued with an applicant card and assigned IPAS accommodation.
• IPA 2015 s.35 — personal interview. The IPO conducts a substantive personal interview to assess the application. You have the right to an interpreter, the right to be accompanied by a legal representative, and the right to make written submissions.
• IPA 2015 s.39 — first-instance decision. The International Protection Office issues a first-instance decision recommending refugee status, subsidiary protection, permission to remain, or refusal. The s.39 decision is the trigger for the right-to-work entitlement under IPA 2015 s.16 if you have been waiting five months or more.
• IPAT appeal. Adverse first-instance decisions are appealable to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT). The standard appeal window is 15 working days from notification of the s.39 decision; the accelerated window is 10 working days. These windows are strict — file the appeal in time even if you do not yet have full legal representation.
• Discontinuance of accommodation. Discontinuance of IPAS accommodation is most often tied to a final refusal under IPA 2015 s.39 (after any IPAT appeal). If you receive a discontinuance notice, call the Irish Refugee Council on 01 764 5854 the same day — there are limited humanitarian and judicial-review routes that can apply.
• Cross-reference. If a fellow resident is in a mental-health crisis, mental-health-specific protections under the Mental Health Commission framework apply alongside the IPAS / reception-conditions framework.

Hotlines

All the numbers below are free or local-rate to call from any phone in Ireland (including from a mobile in pay-as-you-go). Verified 15 May 2026 against official portals.

Wallet card — screenshot this

The text below fits on one phone screen. Screenshot it now and save it where you can find it without unlocking the app — even a paper printout in your wallet works. If conditions deteriorate or a centre incident happens later, you will have the steps and the numbers in front of you without needing to search.

If you're in Direct Provision / IPAS accommodation
in Ireland and conditions are unsafe:
1. Immediate danger — Garda 999/112.
2. Call Irish Refugee Council 01 764 5854
   (free legal advice).
3. IPAS internal complaint first
   ([email protected]).
4. If unresolved — Office of the Ombudsman
   01 639 5600 (within 12 months).
5. For discrimination / systemic issues —
   IHREC 01 858 9601.
6. Doras (Limerick) 061 310 328 /
   NASC (Cork) 021 427 3594.
7. Reception conditions framework:
   SI 230/2018 + IPA 2015 s.53.

Right now — what to do

1. If you are in immediate danger: dial Garda on 999 or 112. Ask for and write down the PULSE incident number. Calling Garda does not affect your International Protection application.
2. Document everything. Photograph conditions, save messages from centre management, note dates and the names of witnesses. Photo metadata is later used by the Ombudsman and by IHREC.
3. File the IPAS internal complaint first. Email [email protected] or call 01 418 3200. Keep a copy.
4. Call the Irish Refugee Council on 01 764 5854 for free legal advice on the complaint and on the underlying IPA 2015 application. Doras (Limerick) 061 310 328 and NASC (Cork) 021 427 3594 for the Mid-West and South-West; AkiDwa 01 834 9851 for women.
5. Escalate to the Office of the Ombudsman within 12 months if IPAS does not respond or the response is inadequate. Call 01 639 5600 or email [email protected]. The complaint is free.
6. For systemic / discrimination issues contact IHREC on 01 858 9601. The three routes (IPAS / Ombudsman / IHREC) are compatible — you can use more than one.
7. Take a screenshot of this page or save the hotline numbers in your contacts. Print the wallet card above.

After the emergency call — the challenge letter

Once you have spoken to the Irish Refugee Council and filed the IPAS internal complaint, you may want to put a formal human-rights / equality challenge in writing — especially for an IHREC referral or a pre-action protocol step. The Commoner Law letter below is designed for that. IPAS, the Office of the Ombudsman, IHREC, and the Irish Refugee Council are always free and should always come first.

• Ireland Human Rights Challenge Letter — drafts a formal challenge citing the reception conditions framework (SI 230/2018), International Protection Act 2015 s.53, and the applicable equality / human-rights instruments. Designed to plug into the Office of the Ombudsman or IHREC pathway.
• Contact Commoner Law — if a hotline number above no longer works, tell us so we can update this page.