Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE OFFICE OF the Ombudsman has received several complaints from asylum seekers living in hotels and B&Bs around Ireland.
As previously reported by TheJournal.ie, people seeking international protection living in emergency accommodation have experienced a number of difficulties accessing basic services at these centres.
Since September, the Department of Justice & Equality’s Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) has accommodated people in hotels and B&Bs due to capacity issues in Direct Provision centres.
There are now 777 people living in emergency set-ups in 25 counties around Ireland. The department has paid nearly €7 million to private business owners running hotels and B&Bs in that time.
People living in these centres have experienced a lack of service provision and have raised these issues with RIA.
According to a spokesperson for the Ombudsman’s Office – which is charged with examining complaints from people about public bodies and has visited Direct Provision centres since 2017 – “people in emergency accommodation tell us that they are experiencing difficulty accessing public services.”
A number of issues highlighted by residents so far include difficulties accessing GP services, delays in PPS numbers being allocated in order to receive weekly payment, lack of educational access for children and unsuitable accommodation.
The office has so far carried out 19 visits to Direct Provision centres this year – including one hotel.
According to a spokesperson, information sessions for residents in Dublin emergency set-ups were also held at its office on Leeson St.
‘Accessing services’
People living in more permanent Direct Provision centres generally have access to a full set of services provided by RIA and the State.
Since September, MASI (Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland) has received a number of queries and complaints from people living in these emergency set-ups.
In June, a number of people living at a hotel in Co Cavan complained to RIA about the type of food being served at the hotel and of having no access to GP services.
They complained that some residents have had no access to medical cards for more than eight months and that local GP practices wouldn’t accept them as patients without medical cards.
Some residents have also been living at the centre for over nine months despite others being transferred from emergency accommodation to more permanent Direct Provision centres.
On 10 June the Office of the Ombudsman wrote to residents of the hotel and said that “we appreciate how frustrating it is for people not to know when they are likely to get a transfer to a permanent centre”.
“However, we also understand the pressure on accommodation in the permanent centres that RIA is trying to deal with.”
‘Lack of oversight’
Campaigners and NGOs have criticised the instability of continually locating asylum seekers in hotels and B&Bs in remote areas.
More recently, a lack of oversight of these private businesses has been highlighted while a lack of vulnerability assessments for people entering the country before being moved to a hotel or B&B has been of growing concern.
Minister for State David Stanton TD said last week that “due to commercial sensitivities with suppliers, many of which are operating as hotels and guest houses concurrently with accommodating applicants for international protection, and also to protect the identity of applicants in emergency accommodation, the name and exact location of the premises being used are not made public.”
Stanton added that RIA staff carry out information clinics in emergency accommodation.
According to the spokesperson for the Office of the Ombudsman, it plans to carry out further visits to hotels and B&Bs over the coming months.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
If they are not happy with the services, they are free to return home. They are not hostages!
@Maria Dardis: free to return home to face war or persecution in many cases. You have a name of French origin. French Huguenots sought refuge in England in the mid 17th century with about 10,000 settling in Ireland. Despite your lack of perspective there is a real unwarranted callousness at play here.
Who do I complain to as I am not happy about the food where I live?
@John Horan: the wife I’d say. Good luck with that.
If you don’t like it, you know where the airport is.
@Rory Toner: They will need to pick up their free airplane ticket first
I can’t get a medical card either, and I pay tax and PRSI
@An bhearna: they’re 8 months without one. I’m 32 years without one. Found I wasn’t entitled to apply for one when I was on the dole for all of 6 weeks. Where’s my complaints procedure?
Given that none of our neighbours are at war, I wonder how did these people get here?
Maybe have passed another/many countries on which they should have applied asylum there?
Maybe did pass another/many other countries and applied there but it was rejected because the claim is bogus?
Maybe didn’t want apply there but prefer here because Ireland offer something more interesting and they are not really after safety?
Just wonder…
‘The Nigerian embassy has accused some of its nationals of making “unfounded allegations” against the country in a “desperate attempt” to remain in Ireland when their asylum applications fail.
The embassy accused “bogus” Nigerian asylum-seekers of making “terrible and unfounded” allegations against their country of origin in order to stay in Ireland “at all costs”.
In a statement, it also accused journalists and non-governmental organisations of encouraging asylum-seekers to “vilify” Nigeria as a means of staying in Ireland.’
Source: The Irish Times
‘Bogus’ Nigerian asylum-seekers vilifying country, says embassy
@Raymond Westlake: And after the application is approved they start going back on holidays as many times as they can…
@Raymond Westlake: I’ve always suspected this. Nigeria seems like a country that could become very successful if it quashed their ISIS affiliate and sorted out the sectarian divide.
Wait until they become “Irish Citizens” then they’ll know what hardship is and how difficult it is to access Public Services. As for an Irish Person getting a Medical Card, a joke. We are suffering the reductions in our Pension even though we paid our PRSI, to be Irish in this Country is to be a Second Class Citizen.
@John Declan: you’ve clearly never been to a country with real problems. Compared to how most of the world live we have an amazing lifestyle here, beyond the wildest dreams of the 2 billion people living on less than $2 a day.
@john doe: These are not the people you refer too as living on 2 dollars a day, if they were they wouldn’t be complaining!
Sure how many times did I try over the last 20 years to get an doctors appointment for a child who had been up sick all night the night before? Ring first thing in the morning to be told booked out sometimes for the next few days. ‘Give him Calpol’ from a receptionist with no medical training. AND these were the days before the free GP care for under 6. So when I did get the appointment eventually it cost €55. No medical cards for the working Irish.
I suspect that the complaints will come to nothing. The State is doing the best it can. The alternative is homelessness because direct provision is overwhelmed and full to brim with asylum seekers some of whom now have status but can’t get housing so they can’t leave and others who have deportation orders and won’t leave. Finally, the top two countries for asylum seekers claimants in Ireland are European. Albania and Georgia. These are overwhelmingly economic migrants. Most countries fast track them (in around a week) and send them home. But not Ireland. I’m ignoring Syria in this regard as most asylum claimants from Syria were brought to Ireland and are legitimately fleeing conflict.
They don’t know where they’ll end up, well to be fair they are atleast going to be safe wherever they end up compared to the place they are seeking refuge from.
have your say