LIMERICK migrant rights organisation Doras Luimní raised the issue of their organisation’s continued exclusion from Mount Trenchard at the launch of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions report on direct provision last week.
The organisation also voiced its concern about the lack of response from Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald regarding the ongoing issues at Mount Trenchard asylum seeker accommodation centre in Foynes.
In response, the chairman of the Committee, Padraig McLoughlin, promised to raise the issue with the RIA (Reception and Integration Agency) and Minister Fitzgerald.
The report, launched on May 7, found that Ireland’s direct provision system is not fit for purpose and requires “robust independent oversight”.
The Committee is calling for the RIA to establish a pre-Ombudsman independent complaints system for residents, and for the respective jurisdictions of the Ombudsman for Public Service and the Ombudsman for Children be extended to include the direct provision system.
Under direct provision, asylum seekers must live in hostel accommodation while their applications for refugee status are being processed. They receive an allowance of €19.10 per week and are not allowed to work or study.
The Committee visited four centres as part of their deliberations, one of which was Mount Trenchard.
The report states that Alan Hyde, director of Barlow Properties, the company responsible for the management of Mount Trenchard, receives €164.50 per resident per week, in contrast with the weekly allowance granted to residents of €19.10.
The report also claims that the contractor pays €10,000 per month on transport costs to and from the isolated centre, which is located more than 40 kilometres from Limerick city.
Leonie Kerins, direct support manager, Doras Luimní said: “The Government regularly employ a financial argument when discussing the issue of direct provision and use this as an excuse for prohibiting access to the labour market. The contractor of Mount Trenchard, Barlow Properties, had accumulated profits of €2.5 million at the end of 2013.
“If this money was given directly to asylum seekers and they were allowed to live and work in the community as equals, the Government would likely witness a reduction in overall spending in this sector. While working towards this objective, the Government should clearly be contracting the management of these centres to suitably qualified and skilled organisations and individuals, operating on a not-for-profit basis.”
Karen McHugh, Doras Luimní CEO and one of the contributors to the Committee commented: “The Oireachtas Committee’s report reinforces our call for an end to direct provision, which many organisations nationwide have been advocating for many years. We appreciate the support the Committee has given to this cause but we must now ensure that real action is taken to consider and implement alternatives to direct provision.”
