For more than 20 years, Ireland has treated the arrival of asylum seekers as a short-term issue. We have used private sector hotel and B&B accommodation to house them, often for years at a time. This system, called direct provision, has been criticised, both in Ireland and internationally, for failing to meet our national and international obligations to care for people seeking asylum.
In a 2021 White Paper, the Government pledged to replace direct provision with a not-for-profit and more humane system. However, progress on getting to that better system has been very slow.
The direct provision system has clearly reached its limits. Covid, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, our acute shortage of housing and an increase in the post-Covid numbers of people applying for international protection have all made it more difficult to deliver the promised new system. The share of beds contracted to the State reduces availability for tourism. According to Fáilte Ireland, this can lead to the loss of up to €1 billion in revenue. The failure of the State to provide any accommodation for recently arrived asylum seekers has been found by the High Court to be unlawful. So it is time to make a permanent shift to a new system where the State takes responsibility for accommodating asylum seekers by providing State-owned and operated accommodation for them.
In a new report, the three-person External Advisory Group (EAG), which advises Minister Roderic O’Gorman on implementing the White Paper on ending direct provision, puts the emphasis on accommodation. The EAG recommends that the State use the emergency powers already available to it to provide the six reception and integration centres put forward in the White Paper. This means delivering three by the end of 2023 and the remainder by the end of 2024. Emergency powers have been used to provide modular homes for Ukrainian refugees, so why not for asylum seekers?
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Using hotel and B&B accommodation is one of the most expensive ways of accommodating asylum seekers. It would cost less over time if the State had a permanent stock of State-owned and operated accommodation
The White Paper sets out a commitment to an annualised capital and current investment programme. This should now be activated and included in the 2024 and subsequent budgets. This funding could deliver a mix of purchase, renovation and new-build housing that would be additional to current housing plans. Using hotel and B&B accommodation is one of the most expensive ways of accommodating asylum seekers. It would cost less over time if the State had a permanent stock of State-owned and operated accommodation for asylum seekers.
To deliver the additional capacity required to cater for the needs of those granted leave to remain, we have recommended the creation of a specialised accommodation agency, under the responsibility of the Department of Housing. We have repeated our call to include all asylum seekers whose applications are accepted in the local authority Housing Need and Demand assessments and county development plans. This would ensure that their needs are reflected in long-term housing and services planning. In March 2023 there were over 5,000 people still in direct provision, despite having received leave to remain in Ireland. They will make their homes in Ireland and should be included in local planning so they can build new lives here.
[ Direct provision may not end if Government does not act now, Coalition warnedOpens in new window ]
In the past 12 months we have seen several protests against housing asylum seekers in local communities around the country. Some protesters have real concerns, for example about pressures on local services. These can and need to be addressed. But other protesters have promoted misinformation and disinformation to sow confusion and further their own political aims. We should inform the public better about asylum seeker issues, and promote at national level a more sympathetic understanding of the factors that cause people to leave their homes and families to seek protection here. We should discuss the positive talents and energies they bring to this country so that we can integrate them into our communities and help them make their lives here for the long term.
Informed and involved
Local communities must be informed and involved from the earliest possible moment. It is not acceptable that they are only informed of new arrivals at the last minute. A dialogue should start as soon as a specific locality is under consideration, well before contracts are signed. To deal with the concerns of local residents, additional services should be provided upfront in the form of increased healthcare, school facilities and transport links in areas welcoming new arrivals.
[This] is a complex challenge that requires a cross-Government effort and an open response from local communities all over the country. This cannot be done by one minister or one department
Delivering a better, more humane system of international protection, which helps asylum seekers integrate and build new lives in Ireland is a complex challenge that requires a cross-Government effort and an open response from local communities all over the country. This cannot be done by one minister or one department. As the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe recently pointed out, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth “is not in a position to address all of the issues that appear relevant to secure a holistic response alone”.
The EAG is calling for the Department of the Taoiseach to be given a co-ordinating role in delivering the pledge of the White Paper. It may take somewhat longer than originally envisaged but the goal of ending direct provision is certainly achievable. It is high time to put a better system in place.
Catherine Day is a former secretary general of the European Commission, a governor of The Irish Times and chair of the Advisory Group.