Mags GarganThe group tasked with identifying improvements to the Direct Provision system for asylum-seekers and refugees has expressed disappointed at the Government’s lack of progress in implementing its recommendations.
“The report of the Working Group will not serve its purpose and improve the protection process or enable asylum seekers to live with greater dignity if it is not implemented,” said Eugene Quinn, National Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Ireland. “We are calling on the Irish Government to act now and honour their promise to introduce a number of key recommendations.”
Members of the Working Group, which also includes Spirasi, the Spiritan organisation which supports survivors of torture, have welcomed the Department of Education’s announcement to improve access to third level education for children in the system. They also welcomed the Department of Health’s decision to exempt asylum seekers from prescription charges.
Disappointment
However, disappointment was expressed at the lack of any movement on the recommendations to address the length of time people spend in the Direct Provision system, which was the principal reason for the establishment of the Working Group last October.
“Many of us have been ‘living in limbo’ with our lives on hold in Direct Provision for too long. The solution recommended for persons who have been in the system for more than five years will assist many to finally exit the system. All that is required is the political courage to act,” said Stephen Ng’ang’a, Coordinator of the Core Group of Asylum Seekers.
The Working Group has launched a new website tracking the Government’s implementation of the recommendations it made at the end of June. Timetoact.ie calls for the immediate implementation of communal catering, an increase in the Direct Provision weekly allowances to €38.74 for adults and €29.30 for children and a solution for people living in the system for five years or more.