Direct Provision
Updated on December 15th 2019
Paediatricians call for end to Direct Provision
Paediatricians are calling on the Government to abolish Direct Provision and place families in more child appropriate accommodation.
A new report by the Faculty of Paediatrics at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland says the facilities have a hugely negative impact on a child's wellbeing that may impact on mental health in adulthood. More here
Direct Provision Explainer: The journey of people seeking asylum in Ireland
To coincide with World Refugee Day 2019 Comhlámh’s ‘Ireland Says Welcome’ group would like to share this Direct Provision Explainer to highlight some of the continuing issues with Ireland’s system for accommodating people seeking asylum in this country. This one page graphic is a resource to help people fill in any gaps they may have in understanding the Direct Provision system and to tie in some of the main issues people may hear about and how they relate to the process.
ABOLISH DIRECT PROVISION IRELAND CAMPAIGN NEWS
June 19th 2019
Abolish Direct Provision Ireland is a civil society grassroots movement. It is a collective of asylum seekers, citizens, organisations, and representative groups working together in a systematic manner to bring an end to Direct Provision in Ireland. It is a call for action.
Our approach include's three phrases:
1. Create Awareness of the Direction Provision System
In Ireland only 1 in 10 people know about the Direct Provision (DP) System. DP started in 1999 as a means for housing asylum seekers. Designed as a temporary base for six months this accommodation system holds families in isolated areas with little or no access to basic services for years. Parents have reported spending a minimum of three years in deplorable conditions; with whole families in one room, including children, and individuals sleeping on mattresses. This causes long-term damage to health, educationally disadvantages children and adults, and isolates asylum seekers from the Irish community. This is compounding the damage already experienced by asylum seekers who have fled dangerous conditions such as war, genocide or persecution.
2. Empowerment of Asylum Seekers.
It is our objective to unite asylum seekers and provide a platform of empowerment and recognition. To ensure their voice is heard. Many asylum seekers feel hopeless living in DP due to the inhumane treatment they're receiving. Our campaign seeks to create social change, in order to protect and support them.
In 2019, we will host the first Empowerment Conference for Asylum Seekers in Ireland, taking place in Dublin on August 13th. Please come and show your support. (See flyer below with more details).
3. Engagement
Our legal and research team is putting together a series of events and a working paper demanding the Government of Ireland abolish the system of Direct Provision. More information will be provided at our Socialist Bar event in Dublin. (See Flyer below)
To learn more about this issue and stay up to-date with our campaign, please follow our visiting our facebook page "Say No to Direct Provision in Ireland".
Links for Events/Fundraisers
- Dublin Pride Parade Fundraiser
- https://www.gofundme.com/abolish-direct-provision-lgbt-group-pride-dublin?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgnstaticsmall_r&fbclid=IwAR2pRTqjVCxrCEkxnH5b5e9u1hcWdv2sjVgJvGn1BjPHU_MaP-DPL-eH-hs
- Cork Say No to Direct Provision Night http:/https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shookrah-and-other-artists-cork-says-no-to-direct-provision-tickets-62812931168?fbclid=IwAR3DwKepB_-mAZJ6mld5lyzOWBkFlKk1xB2FCukYjIyjifYzAmLrXdCiMNo
The Government’s Efforts to Include More Asylum Seekers in Higher Education Are a Piecemeal Concession
June 12th 2019
Dublin City University and University College Dublin are among the country’s four Universities of Sanctuary, a status awarded for the initiatives – such as scholarships and outreach programmes – they have launched in a bid to open up higher education to those living in direct provision.
Sadly, it’s equally apparent that the government is unwilling to tackle head-on a system that has been heavily criticised by the UN – and condemned this week as a “strange, cruel system” by the New Yorker. More here
New report on child protection recommends abolishing #DirectProvision Jiune 11th 2019
Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Prof Geoffrey Shannon:
"Ireland should abolish the ‘direct provision’ system of accommodation for asylum seekers and ensure adequate provision for children’s standard of living.
In the interim, the Reception and Integration Agency must ensure agreements with commercial contractors in relation to compliance with section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 and ensure high standards of accommodation.
Direct provision should be placed on a statutory footing, and a time limited period (6-9 months) introduced after which an individual who has not yet received a first instance decision on his/her status should be able to leave the direct provision system and live independently and access relevant social welfare payments"
https://www.dcya.gov.ie/…/2018121811ReportSpecRappChildProt…
Today marks the 19th year of the formal establishment of the system of #directprovision in Ireland . The system of #directprovision provides no-choice communal accommodation, meals and a weekly allowance of €38.80 (adult) & €29.80 (child), to those who claim asylum in Ireland.
Woman who died in Direct Provision buried without ceremony before friends were told
June 11th 2019
A WOMAN WHO died at a Direct Provision centre in Galway in August 2018 was buried last month without ceremony or prior notice to friends.
The Department of Justice & Equality has apologised for the distress caused to her friends, who discovered her remains were buried quietly by the State despite requests to be kept informed so they could make appropriate arrangements.
Sylva Tukula died at the Great Western House Direct Provision Centre in Galway in August 2018. More here
Living in Direct Provision
The first thing I’m asked by an African man when I attend a fundraiser for asylum-seekers in Ireland is: “Are you alone? Do you have someone with you? A friend? Will I introduce you to people?”
The purpose of the fundraiser is threefold: to end direct provision (DP) in Ireland, to include asylum- seekers in normal Irish society, and allow them to live independent lives.
Currently, immigrants seeking asylum in Ireland are housed in the direct provision system, in one of 36 centres around the country. More here
April 5th 2019
Have a listen to the Tedx Talk to the right that offers some good insight into life in Direct Provision in Cork.
We are treated to a story at the end that I have printed out here below.
There was a farmer...
.. who grew excellent quality wheat and every season he won the award for the best grown in his county. One year a reporter from the local newspaper interviewed the farmer and learned that each Spring the man shared his seed with his neighbors so that they too could plant it in their fields...
“How can you afford to share your best wheat seed with your neighbors when they are entering their crops in the competition with yours?" the reporter asked....
“Why that's very simple,” the farmer explained... "The wind picks up pollen from the developing wheat and carries it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior wheat, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of all the wheat, including mine. If I am to grow good wheat, I must help my neighbors grow good wheat"...
The reporter realized how the farmer's explanation also applied to peoples' lives in the most fundamental way... Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all...
March 30th 2019
Richard Boyd Barrett PBP
Almost 6,300 people live in 38 Direct Provision centres across Ireland. Some 730 individuals have been granted protection status or permission to remain in Ireland, including 206 refugees.
The DP system was established in 2000 to house asylum seekers entering the country. Close to 450 people have been living in DP centres for over five years . More here
Direct Provision BOyd Barrett.mp4April 1st 2019
Emergency accommodation: Over 500 asylum seekers now living in hotels and B and Bs across Ireland
With Ireland’s 39 direct provision centres at capacity, the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) has accommodated people in hotels and B&Bs in Cavan and Monaghan since September. The department tendered for more hotels and B&Bs in Dublin, Meath, Louth and Waterford in January. More here
Hiding the fact they're gay and being harassed by other residents: People talk about life in Direct Provision
RESIDENTS AT DIRECT Provision centres often have to live in a confined space, sharing a room with people they do not know or get on with.
Some people living in the centres have experienced intimidation, harassment and threats from other residents. More here
Farmers wouldn't keep cows in this': Complaints over mould, leaks at Dublin Direct Provision centre
ASYLUM SEEKERS LIVING in a Direct Provision centre in Dublin were accommodated in apartments with apparent leaks, mouldy walls and broken furniture before it closed last year. From the Journal.ie here
DIrect Provision.mp4Of the 4,070 adults currently living in Direct Provision, 1,594 people have been granted permission to work.
According to the department, 579 people are confirmed to be in employment – 15% of the adult population of Direct Provision. More here
As pressure on the asylum system continues, the use of emergency accommodation has been necessary since last year, the Department of Justice and Equality has said.
Campaigners, however, have criticised the instability of locating people in hotels and B&Bs in remote areas. More here
Tensions rise in direct provision centres as asylum claims hit 10-year high
Overcrowding in direct provision centres is now so “acute” that maintenance work cannot be carried out even as the centres are being asked to create more bed spaces “without sacrificing standards”, according to internal briefings prepared within the Department of Justice. They also warns of rising tensions “between and among” residents and staff at the centres, saying the pressure staff are now enduring “should not be underestimated”. There are far too few places available for those coming into Ireland looking for asylum. More here
Five direct provision centres oversubscribed, latest figures show
Hotels in Cork, Dublin, Laois, Louth and Waterford being used as emergency housing in an attempt to deal with the lack of supply of Direct Provision places. Why is there such a need for places? It appears that the housing crisis means that up to 700 people who have been up to this point being housed in Direct Provision but who have had favourable decisions allowing them leave to remain but that because of the housing crisis they are among the least able access housing and so cannot leave the Direct Provision Centre. They have no savings, meaning that they cannot pay a deposit. They cannot get a reference from a previous landlord as they were in Direct Provision. And what of the work that they might get? Those in Direct Provision may have been there for longer than 5 years, idle, hoping for a decision. Their skill set disimproves with the passing of time and they may not be able to access reasonably paid employment when they move from Direct Provision. In no way have we contributed to the successful engagement of those in Direct Provision when they get a favourable decision. More here FEB 20th 2019
Fires at the Rooskey Direct Provision Centre.
The Department of Justice issued an urgent call in January for expressions of interest from hotels and guest houses willing to provide emergency full-board accommodation for asylum seekers for up to six months. This accommodation would be used as an “interim measure” while efforts were made to locate more sites for direct provision centres. Just two of the 38 of the State’s direct provision centres are located in Dublin with one, Clondalkin Towers, set to close this summer. This has prompted the Department to engage Shannon Key West Hotel in Co. Leitrim. This hotel is being prepared to receive Asylum seekers and in the interim there has been 2 deliberate fires in the hotel that is giving cause for real concern ahead of the opening of this reception centre. Those living in Rooskey who may have an issue with the location of the Direct Provision Centre feel that their queries and questions may be seen as provocative. There has been an "anti-racist" march at the weekend in the wake of these fires. No-one was hurt and damage was limited. More here FEB 20th 2019
What are the alternatives to our broken direct provision system?
So it is agreed by all that the system of Direct Provision is indeed broken but what seems to be the real concern is that despite this admission and the explanation that there seems not to be a better system. Should this then be the "get out" clause that stops us from at least looking or addressing the problems that lengthy stays in Direct Provision exacerbate for all but especially for children. Should it be the case the the responsibility for housing asylum seekers should be removed from the Department of Justice who have little (or no experience) of housing those in difficult circumstances. More here FEB 20th 2019
Op-ed: Why students are essential to direct provision activism Why should students campaign to end the direct provision system? Students who are living in direct provision should be given a platform to speak about their experiences. More here from Trinity
There are currently 6,355 people in direct provision, according to figures from the Department of Justice obtained by RTÉ News. This is an increase from 6,106 in December 2018. The Department of Justice has said that contracted capacity as of 20 January is 6,156.
"The overcapacity may be due to family configuration reasons for example where a baby is born to a family, etc."
The department has said the fact that around 10% of people in direct provision have been unable to leave the centres, even though they have been granted permission to remain in Ireland, is contributing to capacity issues. It has said it is to open new centres in Moville, Co Donegal and Rooskey on the Leitrim-Roscommon border to meet demand.
These new figures come after RTÉ revealed last month that more than 40% of asylum seekers living in direct provision here are spending two or more years in accommodation centres. The number of people living in direct provision accommodation centres has also been increasing over the past three years. In 2016, there were 4,696 people living in direct provision and 5,096 in 2017. At the end of 2018, the figure stood at 6,106. Another issue contributing to capacity issues, according to the department, is a rise in the number of people applying for asylum in Ireland.
The number of applications during 2017 rose by 30%. The department said this trend continued in 2018 with a 25% annual increase in applications. In December 2018, 27 people were granted either asylum status or subsidiary protection. So far this month, seven people have received notification of status allowing them to remain in Ireland. RTE Thursday January 24th 2019
What is Direct Provision?
Direct provision is a means of meeting the basic needs of food and shelter for asylum seekers directly while their claims for refugee status are being processed rather than through full cash payments. Direct provision commenced on 10 April, 2000 from which time asylum seekers have received full board accommodation and currently, personal allowances of €21.60 per adult and €21.60 per child per week.
Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) staff visit the centres to ensure that asylum seekers needs are being met and to ensure that they have access to all relevant services. These visits include at least two unannounced Inspections per year, along with regular clinics conducted by RIA staff for residents.
STATISTICS
There are approximately 6,000 people living in almost 40 Direct Provision centres across Ireland, including over 1,500 children. In the Limerick region, there are approximately 450 people living in three Direct Provision centres and the monthly statistics can be viewed here
About 1,600 people have spent five or more years in the system, while more than 600 have spent in excess of seven years living in these accommodation centres.
A Supreme Court judgement on a case taken in 2017 found Ireland’s complete ban on employment for asylum seeker’s to be unconstitutional (read more here).
In response to this judgement, Ireland transposed the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive, in July 2018, which sets out minimum standards of reception conditions for asylum applicants. In line with the EU Directive, Ireland now grants access to the labour market and vocational training to eligible applicants.
This is the largest Reception Centre for those living in Direct Provision in Mosney Co. Meath currently housing 622 people. Mosney is not a town, it was a purpose built holiday village with seasonal occupancy but now reconstituted as a Reception Centre is has year long occupancy very much away from a village or town of a reasonable size.
‘In Kerry they’ve strong accents. I thought they were speaking Irish, not English’
“When I got leave to remain I was really excited, it was life-changing. I could finally get an education and work. Except I still couldn’t bring my family here. I had all the rights but couldn’t bring them to Ireland.” Read more here Jan 23rd 2019
Lives in Limbo
It was supposed to provide shelter for just six months. Today, many asylum seekers in the State’s direct provision system spend years in conditions which most agree are damaging to the health, welfare and life-chances of those forced to endure them. More here This is a very informative article that explains more about ordinary life inside the accommodation centres, taking account of
Growing Up, Education, Conditions, Work, Mental Health, Parenting, Welfare, Money and After Direct Provision.
This 6 articles was published over a three day period and was a really informative when it comes to trying to get a real insight into what it means to live in Direct Provision.
This is a wonderful collection of resources that have been published by Doras Luimni who have for many years been advocating for a greater oversight of Direct Provision,
