'Our fears were quelled that first day we stepped foot in Borrisokane'

Under both European and international law, any person can claim asylum in Ireland if they are fleeing life-threatening circumstances in their home country. Whether this is war, threat of death or other forms of persecution, Ireland must provide shelter for asylum seekers while their claim is being examined. Direct provision is the means by which shelter and services are provided during that time.

Enda O’Neill, who is head of office at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ireland says while end-of-2019 figures showed 79.5 million people had been displaced worldwide, the vast majority remain inside or close to their own countries.

“The number of people seeking asylum in Europe and Ireland is quite low compared to other countries,” he says.

“Some do come here, but there is not one homogenous group. Some arrive without ever hearing of Ireland because a smuggler just happened to give them a ticket for here, while others have family here and want to reunite with them.

“A common theme is that people had no choice but to leave their home countries out of fear for their own lives or those of their families.”

How is our current system organised?

Accommodation and necessary services, like health care, food, clothing and utilities are provided while applications are being processed. In addition, asylum seekers receive a small amount of money each week (€38.80 for adults and €29.80 for children).

Asylum-seekers are generally housed at a reception centre in Dublin before being assigned to another centre for a longer-term stay.

As of the 4th October, 2020, there are 6,736 people living in direct provision. There are 5,532 people accommodated in the 44 accommodation centres while a further 1,466 people are accommodated in temporary or alternate locations (like hotels and guesthouses), bringing the total number to 6,998. These centres vary in ownership, accommodation style and population, making regulation difficult.

1 The application process

According to Enda, if processing times are shortened, opportunities would arise to solve other pressing issues in the system. The International Protection Office (IPO) is responsible for processing asylum seekers’ applications. In June, the Minister of Justice stated, in the first quarter of 2020 (pre-COVID-19), the average waiting time between applying as an asylum seeker and getting a “first instance” decision (with a lengthy appeal process it can take years to receive a final decision on applications) from the IPO was 14.9 months.

“Average waiting times for processing an application for asylum, from start to finish, remain far too long,” Enda explains. “All necessary staffing resources should be invested in the international protection decision-making bodies to bring average waiting times down to a maximum of a year – from start to finish – for a final decision on their application.”

2 Max capacity

According to the UNHCR Ireland, since September 2018, asylum seekers have been increasingly placed in emergency accommodation due to capacity shortages in the direct provision system.

“It is extremely challenging for asylum seekers living in emergency accommodation to access all of their rights and entitlements in these settings,” Enda says. “Reliance on such accommodation should be phased out as quickly as possible.”

3 Accommodation issues

In many direct provision centres and emergency reception centres, space and privacy are an issue for residents – especially if they have been waiting months (or years) for their applications to be processed.

Entire families have been known to share a room while sharing common areas in larger centres.

Other issues include the lack of independence, cultural sensitivity and the impact of COVID-19 on both physical and mental health.

Sharing close quarters has attributed to significant outbreaks in direct provision centres since the beginning of the pandemic.

At the end of September, HSE head Paul Reid told the COVID-19 committee the rate of infection in direct provision centres was 0.53 – a higher rate than in both meat processing facilities and nursing homes.

Government response

In correspondence with Irish Country Living, the Department of Justice says it is committed to ending our current system within the current Government life cycle.

“As confirmed in the Programme for Government, the Government is committed to ensuring that Ireland provides protection to those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution, as is required under international law,” a representative says. “It is also committed to ending the current system of directly providing accommodation and other State supports to applicants for international protection within the lifetime of the Government and to replacing it with a new international protection accommodation policy, centred on a not-for-profit approach.”

The Catherine Day Report

In late 2019, the Department of Justice asked Dr Catherine Day (former secretary general of the European Commission) to chair an expert group on the direct provision system; tasking them with creating long-term solutions to the problems found within the system. Dr Day planned for the group to compile their findings by the end of September, 2020 and a White Paper (official recommendations to the Government) is expected to be produced by the end of year.

What are some proposed changes?

Enda says “new ‘person-centred’ standards, which emphasise the rights, dignity, privacy and diversity of each asylum-seeker” have been developed following a public consultation process and are due to become binding on all accommodation providers in January 2021.

These describe how centres should provide dignified living conditions and higher-quality services to meet the needs of residents. Equally important, however, is providing the right to gainful employment as soon as possible. Many asylum seekers are qualified professionals – allowing access to employment more quickly (the current wait is nine months) will not only aid integration efforts; it provides a much-needed boost in confidence and self-esteem.

“In UNHCR’s view, the ultimate objective of the current reform process should be a fast and fair determination system coupled with a reception system which maximises the autonomy and independence of asylum seekers and empowers them to look after themselves and their families,” Enda says.

“This is achievable in a country like Ireland,” he continues. “There is a long tradition of welcoming newcomers embedded in our culture. We receive modest levels of asylum applicants each year and boast many advantages, such as vibrant community networks and predominantly favourable attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees.”

Borrisokane comes together

In 2019, a direct provision centre was proposed in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary. A town meeting was called to address concerns from the community, which in turn prompted locals to form a liaison committee to deal directly with the Department of Justice. As a result of this co-operation, locals report that the experience has been a positive one.

The Borrisokane centre isn’t the nightmare scenario of over-crowded hotel emergency reception centres; it’s comprised of fully-fitted apartments, each with two bedrooms, a living area, kitchen and bathroom. Across the carpark, there’s a newly opened supermarket with townhouse-style homes on the second level, suitable for larger families.

According to the centre manager, Matt Givens, they now house over 70 residents and plan to welcome more in the coming months.

“No family up sticks to travel halfway around the world with their children for no reason,” he says. “We in this country only have to look at our own history and the many people who had to leave here for different reasons – what [opposition to the centres] really boils down to is, it’s the fear of the unknown.”

Irish Country Living spoke with Borrisokane direct provision resident Dorothy* and community liaison group member Margaret Donnelly for both sides of the experience.

Dorothy’s Story

Dorothy has been living in Ireland with her two children for over a year. She is originally from Nigeria. She left everyone and everything she knew when she came to Ireland, but, in her opinion, she is now home.

“I can remember the day we were given the letter saying we were going to Borrioskane,” she reminisces. “We Googled it and it wasn’t clear where we were going – I think there was some kind of crisis [the town meeting] before we were brought here. And we didn’t want to go somewhere where people didn’t want us. But I thought, ‘When they meet us, they’ll like us so much they won’t want us to leave!’ Now, it’s like we’re home. Our fears were quelled that first day we stepped foot in Borrisokane. People were waving at us from the bus as we arrived.”

Before coming to Borrisokane, Dorothy was sharing a single room with her children at another centre, and they shared living space with various other residents in their block. She says her daughter found it harder to make friends there and often, if they came home late, they went hungry as the food had run out. She says she is “living her dream” in Borrisokane.

“I’ve been given so much in so little time since I’ve been here and in the future I would love to give back. I need to help people; like passing the baton,” she laughs. “At least give us some indication that our applications are moving along. With COVID-19, you can’t see what’s going to happen. I was supposed to go in for my interview last March.”

Margaret’s Story

Margaret Donnelly is a local business owner and member of the community liaison group. She was among the initial group who contacted the Department of Justice while the centre was being developed. Because of her and others’ active involvement in the centre from day one, the residents and the greater community have benefitted.

“There were legitimate concerns [in the beginning] – there have been so many negative stories about direct provision centres,” she says, but explains that after forming a local committee to deal directly with the Department of Justice, they felt much more involved in the process.

“Information was given, we were honest and said, ‘There are limited job prospects here. We are a close-knit community, so families should be placed here’. I’m most of my life in Borrisokane – we have so much to give and have gotten the short end of the stick for so long. But this experience has been so positive,” says Margaret.

While acknowledging “there will always be naysayers”, Margaret says there have been many benefits locally.

“We got our supermarket, which has created employment; it’s enriched the community,” she says.

“We own a takeaway for 27 years and we built on a Chinese on the side; we’ve learned over the years to diversify. Now, with the families here we’ve learned about Halal foods and it’s a new world for everybody.”

Margaret adds that the children from the centre are doing well in the local school (“the teachers have nothing but praise”) and they hope that long-term, they will feel like an integral part of the community.

“It has been fantastic and I hope other communities see it this way,” she says. “It’s up to the powers that be to place individuals and families where they can find work and integrate. [At the end of the day], all anyone wants is to be a part of a community.” CL

*(name changed to protect identity)

Next week:

Maria Moynihan looks at two projects that are building bridges between asylum seekers and refugees and the local community in rural Ireland