A FAMILY OF five staying in international protection accommodation in Dublin has been hit with a transfer notice to Mayo after they weren’t able to get any accommodation in their area.

Local support group Inchicore for All has written to the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan looking for the family to be given an extension of at least one year to allow them to continue the search for accommodation in the capital.

The group said the family is “extremely well integrated in the community and very popular among local people” in Inchicore. The letter cited the upcoming return of school and health problems experienced by the mother as among the reasons why the move would be difficult for the family.

The family, originally from Nigeria, have been granted full legal status as international protection claimants by the Irish government and are currently staying in International Protection Accommodation Service (Ipas) accommodation in Dublin 8.

Current figures show that nearly 33,000 people who have applied for international protection are currently staying in Ipas accommodation. In the past 18 months, over 7,000 people with status have left Ipas accommodation and progressed into the community.

Of that number, approximately 5,300 people have completed their application process and have received a positive decision according to the department.

But the housing crisis has meant many have struggled to leave the Ipas accommodation centres for homes of their own.

Both parents in the Dublin 8 Ipas accommodation work in care, with the mother currently working as a healthcare assistant in the area. Their children attend school locally.

Last month on 4 July, the family was given notice to leave the current accommodation and found out last week that Mayo was offered as an alternative accommodation.

“I’m not saying they shouldn’t take us out of the accommodation and I know the Ipas is trying very hard,” the woman told The Journal, “But we need a place where I can get access to my doctor and hospitals, it’s just so that we can be closer for that.”

The family has been granted full legal status in Ireland but can’t find a home that would enable them to leave the Ipas system.

“We’re all paying taxes and working, but once you tell the landlord you’re an asylum seeker they say no,” the woman said.

While health concerns are the most pressing issue for the family, a transfer to Mayo would also see them have to give up their jobs and school places and to find similar in the rural county.

There are currently just eight properties to rent in Inchicore on Daft.ie and only two that have three or more beds.

“Removing this family or any other from Ipas accommodation is not a solution to the chronic shortage of suitable housing,” Inchicore for All said in its letter to the senior government minister.

“Until such time as the government makes a meaningful effort to end the current housing crisis, residents of Ipas accommodation will struggle to secure housing independently.”

The volunteer group outlined that the mother of the family was originally moved to Inchicore to be closer to medical services to receive increased monitoring for her health.

In one set of correspondence between the family and Ipas, seen by The Journal, the family granted officials consent to access her medical records to help understand her health problems.

In its letter to O’Callaghan, Inchicore for All said that current residents of the Ipas system “should not be punished for the government’s failed housing policy by being pushed into homelessness or moved to areas of the country far from the connections they have made” since coming to Ireland.

“We ask that the family be given an extension of a minimum of one year in their current accommodation to allow them search for suitable accommodation nearby.”

Department response

The Department of Justice, which does not typically comment on individual cases, said it was “very mindful of the challenges that exist for people in trying to move on from Ipas accommodation as there is significant pressure on housing” availability across Ireland.

A spokesperson noted that while people who have secured full asylum status are no longer entitled to IPAS accommodation, they are now able to access the “full range of housing supports available to all Irish residents”.

To help people move from IPAS accommodation and find housing in their community, the department spokesperson said Ipas works in collaboration with DePaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, the Department of Housing and local authorities.