Dozens of asylum seekers who were temporarily moved out of tents to Dublin’s Citywest accommodation when temperatures turned icy last week have been told they may remain at the centre “until further notice” following an earlier request that they vacate the premises.
International protection applicants staying at Dublin’s Citywest hub received an email from the Department of Integration’s International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) on Tuesday which stated their “temporary placement” was no longer available and directing that they leave with all their belongings by 10am on Wednesday, November 27th.
These international protection applicants (IPAs), who were moved out of tents as part of the Government’s cold weather response plan, were told the “cold weather period has now passed”. Temperatures dropped below freezing on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday morning the same cohort received a second email advising that they remain at Citywest “where a temporary offer of accommodation will continue for you until further notice”. This decision was made due to the continuing cold weather, said the email.
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Officials also urged those “in a position to avail of private accommodation with friends” to take up this option rather than remaining at Citywest, according to the email, seen by The Irish Times.
Men staying in tents at the Crooksling site will also remain indoors and residents from River Lodge in Newtownmountkennedy will stay at the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum, Dublin, said a Department of Integration spokesman. New arrivals temporarily accommodated at Citywest “will remain there during the current cold temperatures”, said the spokesman.
Volunteers in Dublin have warned that forcing newly-arrived asylum seekers to sleep rough is “inefficient and dangerous”, with a “real risk” of men contracting hypothermia. A health official confirmed the number of respiratory infections among homeless asylum seekers and those sleeping in tents was increasing.
Some 2,943 asylum-seeking men are currently homeless and awaiting an offer of accommodation.
Advocacy groups say moving people from place to place on an “ad hoc basis” is not an effective winter strategy and is detrimental to their health and wellbeing.
Asking people to live in tents in freezing conditions is unacceptable, said John Lannon, chief executive of migrant support organisation Doras. Supports offered to male IPAs “fall well below the minimum standards for a person to live with dignity”, said Mr Lannon.
Meanwhile, dozens of men staying in tented accommodation at the Kilbride army camp in Co Wicklow were evacuated to “alternative accommodation” in Dublin on Monday night after a fire broke out in the centre’s canteen. No residents were injured during the incident. However, the men have not yet been returned to the camp.
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