Tag Archives: Asylum

WHILE the State won’t make the information public, the Concerned Shannon Residents Group have received details from other sources about the development of Unit 153 at the Shannon Business Park for the accomodation of International Protection Applicants. Even local TDs are struggling to get information from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, but the group have received a diagram showing that there are plans for 70 bedrooms on the ground floor of the building. It is unclear if there will be further bedrooms on other floors at the site. This week several members of Concerned Shannon Residents said they have serious concerns that very little planning has been done for the hundreds of people set to be housed in the new Direct Provision Centre. They also say the level of secrecy around the proposal is unhelpful, something that Clare TD Michael McNamara has also slammed, while he accused the Government of a contempt from the democratic process. …

NEW figures showing that Clare is among the counties with the largest number of applications for asylum have prompted concerns over the relatively high concentration of people living in Direct Provision here. With 378 applications from people living in this county, Clare ranks fourth in the latest data. Three counties – Cork, Meath and Kerry – have a greater number of applications. According to Bulelani Mfaco of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), the number of applications reflects the relatively high number of Direct Provision centres located in Clare, as well as the level of overcrowding within them. “There is a high concentration of asylum seekers in the county between the centres at Knockalisheen, Ennis and Lisdoonvarna,” said Mr Mfaco who is lives at the Knockalisheen centre in Meelick. “That is why the figure for Clare is so high. There is also the issue of the rate of occupancy of the centres to consider. At one point, there …

CONCERNS continue about the difficulty of social distancing and self-isolation for residents of Direct Provision centres who believe that their living conditions are putting them, and those they work with in the wider community, in danger. While the Department of Justice has unveiled a number of measures aimed at addressing the issue, a Clare-based spokesperson for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) continues to seek assurances that further support will be provided. The fact that a number of those living in Direct Provision centres work in the healthcare sector, combined with the heightened risk to those in the profession, mean more action is needed, according to Bulelani Mfaco of MASI. “You would generally expect that those who work with vulnerable elderly people in healthcare settings like nursing homes to be living in secluded areas, in their own isolation zones, but that is not happening in many Direct Provision centres,” he said. “Instead, in some situations, you have up …