by Kathy Masterson
LIMERICK-based migrants rights organisation Doras Luimní has expressed concerns about the Working Group on Direct Provision that was established last October to suggest improvements to the asylum seeker process.
And they have also praised the Irish Refugee Council’s decision to resign from the Working Group, due to concerns that the best interests of asylum seekers were not being fully considered.
“We have had serious concerns about the legitimacy of the Working Group and the Irish Refugee Council’s resignation confirms our initial reservations,” said Doras Luimní chief executive Karen McHugh.
“For the past six months, the ongoing effort of the Working Group has being used as an excuse for the Government’s inaction and now it is apparent that it is not being given the power to input effectively.”
She added that the residents of Limerick’s direct provision centres are becoming “increasingly disillusioned by the process”.
A resident of Hanratty’s Direct Provision centre in Limerick city centre said: “Our hopes and expectations have been raised with the introduction of the Working Group. They were supposed to deliver a report in December 2014 but it was delayed until April. Then we read that it will not be ready until May. It shows they are just buying their time and not considering the lives of the people who are victims of a system we didn’t create.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has welcomed the publication of the new International Protection Bill.
“There are three separate stages to apply to remain in the state, each with its own application process. This Bill will create a more efficient application process by introducing a single procedure mechanism”, he said.
