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THE NEWLY-CREATED working group on direct provision and the asylum process has been criticised for not including any current asylum seekers.
Anti-deportation Ireland (ADI), an activist group which campaigns for the abolition of the direct provision system, has condemned the formation of the working group, whose members were announced on Monday.
The very people whose lives will be affected by the findings of the Working Group, asylum seekers living within the direct provision system, must be directly and well represented on the Group.
“For the working group to have true legitimacy, asylum seekers from across the 34 centres must have direct representation,” said Joe Moore from ADI.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Junior Minister Aodhán Ó’Ríordáin set up the group “to report to Government on improvements to the protection process, including Direct Provision and supports to asylum seekers.”
The group, chaired by retired High Court Judge Bryan McMahon, includes representatives from the Irish Refugee Council, Jesuit Refugee Service, NASC, as well as Reuben Hambakachere, a former asylum seeker representing the Irish Refugee Council’s Core Group of Asylum Seekers and Refugees.
It does not include any current residents of direct provision centres.
‘It’s not a fair share, but it’s a step in the right direction’
Irish Refugee Council CEO Sue Conlan said she would have preferred to see stronger representation of current asylum seekers in the group, of which she is a member.
“Of course it’s not a fair share, but it is a step in the right direction,” she told TheJournal.ie this afternoon.
Conlan noted that Hambakachere could make a particularly valuable contribution to the group, given that he and his family had been in direct provision for eight years, before completing the transition out of that system, some six months ago.
A spokesperson for NASC, whose CEO Fiona Finn was appointed to the working group, told TheJournal.ie the organisation was “disappointed that more of an effort wasn’t made” to include better representation of current asylum-seekers.
In a statement yesterday, Finn expressed hesitation about the prospects of the group:
Although we are disappointed that the terms of reference for the Working Group seem quite narrow, we believe it is better to be at the table and try to effect change than to not take part.
Another working group member, Eugene Quinn from the Limerick-based Jesuit Refugee Service, told TheJournal.ie “it would always be better to have stronger representation from asylum-seekers.”
Sophie Magennis from the Irish office of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said only that she welcomed the inclusion of Hambakachere.
We welcome the inclusion of key NGOs in the area, including a representative of an NGO made up of people who are currently in or have gone through the asylum process.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told TheJournal.ie Reuben Hambakachere “has the advantage of being able to speak about the experience of transition from direct provision to life in the community and all that that entails.”
In establishing the Working Group, a key concern was to ensure the inclusion of a representative of an NGO made up of people who are currently in or have gone through the asylum process.
The Irish Refugee Council Core Group was asked to nominate someone, and chose Hambakachere, the spokesperson added.
The Working Group will later include an as yet undefined number of “representatives from relevant government departments,” according to the Justice Department.
However, here’s a list of its 11 members:
The Department of Justice did not respond to enquiries by TheJournal.ie, in time for publication.
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Well where can we see them?z.?
Another f*ckin Father Ted headline/ruling!
We’re actually becoming more backward and more conservative as a country I swear to God!
#embarrassing
The model licked her finger? Well colour me shocked……..
It’s generally the “bigger boned” lady that complains about these things! Green eyed monsters!!
That’s not fair or accurate. The aesthetically challenged usually complain also.
Jebus wait till they see the Hunky Dory add with the man in the bath,Who seems to ejaculate a blow up toy, parodying the 90s flake add funny as…..sorry,I mean perverts objectifying men like, disgusting!
That advert is lovely .. very tasteful, very elegant, beautiful music & beautiful women … The jewellery on the other hand is horrible wouldn’t spend my money on it … Each to their taste i guess … But get over the advert prudes nothing wrong with it in my view !!
Its fine apart from the gratuitous boob shot and the fact that ladies look slightly off their face on something. But yeah, awful jewellery.
If this is the offending advertisement, it looks pretty tasteful to me:
http://www.newbridgesilverware.com/eshe/
What sort of prudes are we at all?
Where can I see them?! Anyone?!
There’s a thing called Google…
I found em in 3.6 seconds and I’d be slow…..I guess we can’t post the link here so find it yesrelf and stop expecting to be hand-fed.
Here ya go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_SGfpQ5TLM#t=89
I don’t get how the complaint says that its focused on sexualising the woman…you can clear see from the camera work and the direction that the focus was on the jewellery. No doubt that the ad features a very attractive model.
So pontius I take it you have searched for the video and found it within seconds or u just making assumptions?
Don’t Look at it if you don’t like it… simple. .. This isn’t Saudi Arabia
Religious police comes to mind.
Would they prefer the over fed tash wearing ladies showing off the new range of newbridge silver ‘Mum’ rings ?? #MoaningVagMonsters
I find the jewelry pretty awful personally. Draping it in a fine looking woman doesn’t make me think my woman will look like that whilst wearing it. I ain’t stupid – most men aren’t! I reckon this is aimed at women not men.
As for the ad itself – pretty harmless stuff.
I’ve signed up to “He for She” and I’m taking a stand now.
This jewellery ad objectifying women is offensive and I object.
I urge you too to man-up and demonstrate some sense moral outrage.
Evil prevails when good people remain silent.
Hear hear for Emma and her speech at the UN.
Sure. I appreciate your only objection is it’s boring. The advertiser is insulting men by suggesting we will be suckered in with such advertising… and by others making clever remarks they are inadvertently colluding with the advertisers method.
You mean “man-up”. Not sure if I’ve used that then in the right context.
I mean it as a “stand up for what you believe” and not make a sneer for the common cheer.
This advertisement is for jewellery. It’s not aimed at men. It’s aimed at women.
And I don’t believe in infantilising women and placing women’s rights above everyone else’s. maybe if it was an issue that affected women exclusively, I would, but it doesn’t.
HeforShe and campaigns like it are exactly why so many are falling out with modern feminism, why not OneforAll or something like that, why the focus on men “standing up”, and changing their behaviour to suit women, why not stress the importance of not abusing your partner to girls and what about the estimated 40-50% men who are also suffering from domestic violence. Do they have change as well, should they say sorry, and should we ignore them.
Anybody who is against or at least sceptical of modern feminism is so not out of hating women but out of hating sheer intellectual dishonesty and the blatant misconstruing of facts.
But anyway I better before I burst an ulcer.
Peace out people xx
Dead right Doey.
The most annoying folks I come across though are not the feminists. They’re the defenders of feminism who don’t know the first thing about it. They automatically identify when feminism because they see it as the liberal left-wing thing to do, but the have no idea what they are supporting. They’re easy to spot, all you have to do is start talking about things today’s mainstream feminists believe, like patriarchy and rape culture. The response you get is an accusation that you’re conflating extremists with all feminsts. It’s just a default response from those who aren’t big on thinking.
Anyone reading this who fits that description should spend a few minutes researching it. Here are 3 batshit crazy elements of modern mainstream feminism to get you started:
Patriarchy Theory
Rape Culture
Critical Theory
I think it’s quite obvious that the only thing advertisers are selling anymore is sex.
What a load of me arse. The jewellery is gaudy, and the video is so pretentious, I nearly vomited.
Can’t locate the video, but the photographs looks completely tarty. Clearly Newbridge are moving away from they’re more elegant and classy ads for sluty and distasteful. Well done
You’d think it was Saudi Arabia by the music in the ad!
The girl is better looking than the jewelery but her acting is terrible! She looks a bit sedated/ bored….and the lips…was she at the dentist before the shoot? I thought she was going to drool her drink….
have your say