Vol. 557 No. 4
435 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if alternative accommodation will be arranged for a person (details supplied) in Kilkenny; if this person's appeal for asylum on humanitarian grounds will be expedited in view of the outstanding circumstances of the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22623/02]
The person in question has been accommodated at the Ormonde Hostel in Kilkenny since 1 August 2001. At that time the hostel was designated as an accommodation centre for both single males and females. In July 2002, for operational reasons related to the make up of the care of asylum seekers then requiring accommodation, it was decided to redesignate the Ormonde Hostel as a centre for single males only. All the women then resident in the centre were offered alternative accommodation in whichever other centre operated by the Reception and Integration Agency of my Department they chose. However, the person in question declined to move at that time as she wished to remain in the Kilkenny area. At present, the agency operates no other accommodation centre in Kilkenny to which she could be transferred and its proposals to construct a system built accommodation centre in Kilkenny are currently the subject of judicial review proceedings. The agency has advised me that the offer of alternative accommodation elsewhere in the country has remained available at all times and is still open to her.
As regards her asylum claim, I am informed that her appeal to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal has been completed and that a decision has issued to her.
