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Section 53(b) IPA states that a beneficiary of international protection “shall be entitled… to receive, upon and subject to the same conditions applicable to Irish citizens, the same medical care and the same social welfare benefits as those to which Irish citizens are entitled.”
As such, there are a broad range of social welfare entitlements to which a beneficiary of international protection may avail themselves, including: access to jobseeker’s allowance, for those who are unemployed but actively seeking work; access to disability allowance for those unable to provide for themselves due to disability or illness; access to the one-parent family payment for single parents, and access to child benefit for parents/guardians. Application for various grants is carried out at the individual’s local office of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
International protection applicants living in Direct Provision who are recognised as refugees or granted alternative status are not entitled to full social welfare payments while they remain in Direct Provision in. Taking into consideration the difficulties they encounter accessing the housing market, being entitled to full payment would enable them to better plan for transition to other accommodation.[1] As of December 2023, there were 5,960 persons with status residing in Direct Provision centres around the country.[2] As of February 2025, there were approximately 5,400 individuals with status residing in Direct Provision Centres around the country.[3] As of December 2025, there were 4,900 persons with status residing in Direct Provision.[4]
[1] Citizens Information Board, Submissions to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality for the Review of Direct Provision and the International Protection Application Process, May 2019, available here.
[2] Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Response to Parliamentary Question No. 705, 12th December 2023, available here.
[3] Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Response to Parliamentary Question No. 287, 13 February 2024, available here.
[4] Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Response to Parliamentary Question No 438 and 439, 2 December 2025, available here.