Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 10 May 2000

Vol. 518 No. 6

Asylum Seekers' Accommodation.

Mr. Deenihan

The people of Tralee have been both welcoming and accommodating towards refugees and asylum seekers over the past two years. There are 180 asylum seekers in Tralee as well as 80 Kosovars. Some 40 more places are available in the Johnston Marina Hotel, which at present houses 60 refugees. This will bring the figure to 300, the largest concentration of refugees and asylum seekers outside Dublin.

There was little or no consultation between the directorate for refugee and asylum support services regarding the dispersal of these people to Tralee, and the directorate would have to accept that they have received no resistance, to date, to its dispersal programme in Tralee or Listowel. When the Kosovars, for example, arrived in Kerry, a group of people from Tralee welcomed them at Kerry airport. The Listowel Urban Council received the 24 asylum seekers in the council chamber on arrival. Local charities and individuals donated clothes and other necessities to the asylum seekers. The asylum seekers themselves accept that they have been made very welcome in both towns.

However, the proposal to house 200 or so people in 50 housing units on the grounds of Ballymullen Army Barracks, without any consultation with the local community or the provision of information to the residents of the village of Ballymullen and the surrounding communities, has infuriated the local population of 277 people or so.

The village of Ballymullen is situated on the outskirts of Tralee. It is a small community with a long history. It has two shops, two public houses, a creamery, an electrical shop, two guest houses and an Army barracks. The majority of the people living in the village are retired. A number of old people live alone and, as one individual remarked at a recent public meeting, there are 90 year old people looking after 75 year old people. It is a very closely knit community with a proud history associated mostly with the Army barracks and with a number of wars fought over the last two centuries.

The people are rightly concerned about this proposal. An influx of between 200 and 300 people, irrespective of who they might be, into such a small community confined to two acres of land, is not acceptable on humanitarian or any other grounds. It is not acceptable for the residents of Ballymullen or the unfortunate asylum seekers. This is not an appropriate solution to this problem.

I am aware of no commitment to any extra community health care or other services. The Minister is aware of the state of the health services in Tralee because his brother is a member of the Southern Health Board. Tralee General Hospital has the longest out-patient and one of the longest in-patient waiting lists in the country. There has been no commitment by the Southern Health Board to provide extra services to cope with this influx of refugees in addition to those there already. The services are stretched already and this is most unfair to people who are to be dispersed to Tralee. It is unfair to the refugees and asylum seekers and to local people.

This is not a good decision. It is contrary to any civilised dispersal policy. The UN High Commission on Refugees recently issued clear guidelines regarding the housing of refugees and asylum seekers. These guidelines rule out the housing of refugees in what are potential ghettoes. If one accommodates such a large number of people in close proximity, irrespective of who they are, one creates a potential ghetto.

The infrastructure – health services, education and so on – to cater for such a large influx of people is not in place. Last night Tralee Urban Council gave permission to build houses at a density of eight houses per acre in the town, just half a mile from the location of the barracks. Furthermore, in a recent discussion on Kerry Radio, Peter Mahony of the Irish Refugee Council said that this type of housing solution was unacceptable.

I appeal to the Minister not to pursue this proposal at Ballymullen.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

As the issue raised by Deputy Theresa Ahearn relates to asylum seekers, I call Deputy Ahearn and the Minister will then have ten minutes to reply.

Mrs. T. Ahearn

The proposal to locate 40 asylum seekers in the Vee Valley Hotel in Clogheen, County Tipperary, was handled in an inept, incompetent and very arrogant manner. The lack of information, consultation and negotiation has caused a serious impasse, resulting in a 24 hour picket being placed on the hotel for the past two weeks.

There is no better way to cultivate uncertainty and insecurity, to generate concern and fear than to withold information and refuse any opportunity for consultation or negotiation.

It is incredible to recall how the information reached Clogheen that the proposal was to increase the population of that little village by 40% overnight. The news came to the community and public representatives by rumour and hearsay until eventually just one official telephone call was made by the directorate to the local priest. There was no communication with the local school which would have to cater for additional children, the hospital or Garda station, the social welfare office in Caher or officials of the health board.

It is clear that the decision to locate 40 asylum seekers in Clogheen was based solely on the availability of accommodation. Had that accommodation been capable of catering for 200 refugees, would the Minister have proceeded to locate 200 refugees in Clogheen? It appears that the only credible policy the Minister has is to find suitable accommodation, which, worse still, seems to be accepted as suitable on the word of the proprietor. From our experience in Clogheen no investigation was carried out into the suitability of the accommodation selected.

The attitude and generosity of the people of Clogheen should not be judged from their resistance to the imposition of 40 asylum seekers in their community by stealth. There is a tremendous community spirit among the people of Clogheen. Their generosity cannot be questioned. It is proved by their tremendous response to fund raising for the local hospital.

The Minister has a problem and I support him in finding a solution. It is not what he is doing however that is at issue but how he is proceeding to deal with the problem. It is both unfair and wrong not to approach the people of Clogheen and give them full and adequate information, to negotiate with them and ask them to become part of the programme to deal with asylum seekers. The Minister will kill their sense of generosity, sharing and being part of a programme to deal with a national problem if they are not made feel that their views and concerns will be taken into account and that they will have a say in the location of asylum seekers within their community.

The infrastructure of Clogheen has not been investigated. Nobody seemed to ask about the availability of transport. Nobody seemed to be worried about providing interpreters, language classes, leisure facilities and activities for asylum seekers during daylight hours within their new surroundings. It is not sufficient just to find accommodation, this must be backed up by adequate resources and facilities to ensure those who seek refuge here will be able to expect not just a roof over their heads but that their other needs will also be met. They should be given the opportunity to learn our language and mix with local communities.

The situation in Clogheen is very serious. The Minister should break the impasse and make himself available for consultation and negotiation. The people of Clogheen will not be found wanting if they are dealt with on equal terms.

Mr. O'Donoghue

I reject out of hand the tendentious comments of Deputy Ahearn. We are dealing with a very serious and sensitive issue and the interests of the people of Clogheen and asylum seekers would be best served if we approached this issue in a calm, sensible and rational manner.

The number of asylum seekers entering the country has increased dramatically in recent years, but particularly since July of last year. The current rate of arrival is approximately 1,000 per month. On the basis of recent trends it is anticipated that at least 12,000 applications for asylum will be made this year. The significant increase in the number of persons applying for refugee status has resulted in an acute shortage of accommodation in the greater Dublin area. To put it at its starkest, the supply of accommodation in the greater Dublin area has been exhausted. Apart from the shortage of accommodation in Dublin, it is not desirable from an integration point of view to have all asylum seekers located in the capital.

Due to the emergency which has developed it is necessary to source suitable accommodation throughout the country as a matter of urgency. The alternative, which is unacceptable, is to have asylum seekers sleeping on the streets and in parks. There is no avoiding this key point. In the longer term, my aim and that of the Government is to achieve a fair and balanced distribution of asylum seekers throughout the country and to have particular regard, among other factors, to the size of the local communities when deciding the numbers of asylum seekers to be placed in them. For reasons to do with the number of asylum seekers entering the State however all offers of accommodation, wherever they arise, have to be fully and carefully considered. The severe shortage of accommodation in all areas of the State allied to the continuing increase in asylum applications is giving rise to enormous difficulties in meeting the basic needs of asylum seekers.

Information meetings organised by the Directorate for Asylum Support Services take place at all locations where it is proposed to accommodate asylum seekers. Such meetings take place before asylum seekers are accommodated in localities. The directorate strives at all times to inform local communities as early as possible. The directorate is often constrained however with regard to the amount of notice which can be given because the time from the date accommodation is secured to the date on which asylum seekers need to be accommodated is often very short. Neither I nor the Department can predict daily the number of applicants who travel here to make applications. Nevertheless they all have to be housed and have their basic needs met. Opposition Deputies can protest all they like but there is no denying or escaping that basic fact.

Society in general and host communities have a major role to play in the reception of asylum seekers. The directorate is available to support and encourage communities to interact with asylum seekers and not to see them as a burden. Following a recent meeting in Tralee, a number of organisations and individuals have indicated their wish to become actively involved in assisting asylum seekers in the area and involving them, where possible, in local and voluntary organisations. Individuals in the Clogheen area have also indicated that they would like to be involved in providing support for asylum seekers in the locality. In this regard, officials from the directorate are available to assist local support groups.

It is the policy of the directorate to help establish local support groups and monitoring committees in locations where asylum seekers are accommodated. Local support groups usually comprise representatives of local community groups and endeavour to involve asylum seekers in community and sporting activities. Local monitoring committees establish links between the managers of centres for asylum seekers, resident groups and local business interests. These committees can work in a collaborative way to resolve issues that may arise and to ensure good ongoing liaison between management of the accommodation centres and local communities. A number of communities have established support groups and monitoring committees. I welcome and very much appreciate their initiative and goodwill.

Asylum seekers are actively participating in voluntary ventures in many centres and local communities have welcomed this participation. Family groups have adjusted quickly to their new surroundings. Children in particular are very adept at adjusting to new surroundings.

I am very conscious, as is the case with all locations where asylum seekers are accommodated, that the management structures put in place in Ballymullen and Clogheen will be vital to the success of the sites. I am also conscious of the need for liaison between the local community and asylum seekers. With this in mind, the direc torate will require the highest standards from the management of accommodation centres and the operation and security of the sites and their impact on local communities will be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Mobile home accommodation, which is what is planned for the Army barracks in Ballymullen, is particularly suitable for family groups. The Tralee site was inspected by architectural staff of the Office of Public Works with a view to assessing its suitability for development as a mobile home site. This professional examination concluded that the site was capable, following the appropriate works, of accommodating up to 50 mobile homes and the ancillary management, catering and other necessary structures. On Monday I met local representatives from the Tralee area to discuss the proposal to accommodate asylum seekers there. I assured them that I would pass on the points raised by them to the directorate. In turn, I have been assured by the directorate that it is committed to adopting a sensitive approach to the numbers to be accommodated and that, in the main, families will be located there. The directorate has arranged a meeting tomorrow with local and community representatives from Clogheen.

In general, I hope that the fears and concerns of local communities can be quickly allayed. The fact that communities in several towns and villages throughout the country have had asylum seekers in their midst for some years, in some instances without any undue difficulties, is a very positive sign. There is no reason to believe that the situation will be any different in those areas which for the first time have an asylum seeker cohort in their communities.

It would be remiss of me if I did not point out that, since becoming Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have repeatedly stated in the House that there would be a difficulty about the number of asylum seekers coming into the State. I stated repeatedly that certain measures were required and was opposed across the floor of the House on numerous occasions on almost every measure I sought to introduce. Surely I can be forgiven for looking at Opposition Members and asking if I had done what their front bench spokespersons wanted me to do over the past three years, how much more serious would the accommodation difficulty be tonight? How much more difficult would the position be?

If I had listened to all the pressure brought to bear on me as Minister in this House, and to all the criticism I had to confront over the past three years on this matter, I suggest, without fear of contradiction, that the system which is being criticised tonight would be in a state of absolute collapse.

Mrs. T. Ahearn

The Minister met representatives from Tralee. Will he meet representatives from Clogheen?

Mr. O'Donoghue

I will meet public representatives.