Nearly 80 asylum seekers have asked to be relocated from the town of Cahersiveen in Co Kerry after quarantine measures were introduced at the direct provision centre where they are living.
Concerns were raised on Friday following reports that residents at the former Skellig Star hotel in Cahersiveen had been told they must self-isolate inside.
A Department of Justice spokesman said residents had been asked by medical experts to self-quarantine and adhere to guidance but that “the door to the centre remains open at all times”.
Widespread testing was undertaken at the centre last week and it’s understood 22 people were moved after testing positive for Covid-19 while four people are currently self-isolating in their rooms after displaying symptoms.
There are currently less than 80 residents, including single adults and families, staying in 56 rooms at the centre.
“The HSE have asked all other residents in the hotel in Cahersiveen to isolate, as would be the case for any other person in the country, under the HSE guidelines,” said the spokesman.
"We understand that an isolation situation is difficult. Indeed nothing about life in a pandemic is easy for any person in Ireland. "
A dedicated outdoor area for exercise has been put in place within the hotel grounds and arrangements have been made to ensure residents can order any items they need from local shops, he said.
The spokesman confirmed testing at the centre had been completed but did not say how many residents had tested positive for the virus.
“In line with our agreed policy with the HSE, anyone with a positive Covid-19 result has been transferred to an offsite self-isolation facility where they are cared for until such time as the HSE considers that they can safely return to their centre,” he said.
‘Abitrary detention’
Doireann Ansboro from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties expressed concern that residents were being held inside the centre in a way that “may constitute arbitrary detention”.
“The temporary emergency legislation confers extraordinary powers of detention on medical officers, but there are clear safeguards too - including the need for written certification that individuals are a potential source of Covid-19 and a right to review by a second medical officer,” she said.
A statement from residents at the centre called for those still in the Skellig star hotel to be moved to another location where they can social distance without fear of contracting the virus.
“This place is infected and is uninhabitable for a human being in this pandemic period,” said the group, adding that there were still people with serious medical conditions and pregnant women in the hotel.
The residents also criticised the Government for moving people from a Dublin hotel to Cahersiveen despite the HSE raising concerns around the transfer of more than 100 refugees during the pandemic.
“The emergency we are experiencing now requires urgent and effective actions. We, asylum seekers, are no lesser beings and we don’t deserve to be given inhumane treatment . . . Move us out.”
Bulelani Mfaco from the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland said the group was “appalled” by the Government’s inaction after highlighting the “untenable and deteriorating conditions in Cahersiveen”.
“We are concerned about serious breaches of fundamental human rights in the centre where the State has effectively imprisoned asylum seekers, including a 3-year-old child who sleeps, eats, plays, and does her school work in the crammed bedroom she shares with her parents with no space to run around like all children her age naturally do,” said Mr Mfaco.
