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A TOTAL OF 355 international protection applicants are currently without accommodation, according to the Irish Refugee Council.
The charity said the figure shows “a further deterioration in the rights of people seeking protection” in early 2023.
Chief executive Nick Henderson said the basic rights of people in the international protection process remain unmet in many ways.
“This is a grave and deteriorating situation that requires all of Government attention,” he said.
“We acknowledge the challenges faced by the Government, but it does not remove the legal obligation to provide accommodation to international protection applicants, which the State has been in violation of for over two months now.
“The continuous deterioration of standards in reception centres, homelessness and the far-right rise present a darker reality for people seeking protection as we journey through 2023.”
Publishing its 2022 Impact Report, the Irish Refugee Council said there was a significant increase in the number of people seeking protection in Ireland last year.
Henderson recommended “an all-of-government approach, a robust communication plan and investments towards supporting transition from direct provision”.
He called for the appointment of a refugee response director and inspector of emergency, transit and tent accommodation.
More than three-and-a-half times as many people seeking international protection were directly supported by the Irish Refugee Council in 2022, the report states.
It said it provided direct and substantial support to 11,000 people in 2022, compared with 3,000 in 2021.
The charity reported a 733% year-on-year increase in email queries and a 60% increase in calls to its helplines.
It said the statistics reflect the increasing needs of people seeking international protection in Ireland.
Henderson thanked the Irish public for its support during what he described as one of the most challenging times in the organisation’s 30 years of existence.
“In a year of records, we should remember that behind every number there is a person,” he said.
“From the young mother from Ukraine alone with her toddler, to the man fleeing political persecution in Eritrea with the simple aspiration of seeking safety, all come to Ireland with hope.
“It is our mission to help all people in this situation.
“We are indebted to Irish society for supporting us in delivering our work throughout 2022.”
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We dont recognize mandate.What country do they think we’re in South Korea.Its your right be a member of a union.Any one who goes past a picket is a S___.
@Dave Walsh: They have more then 800 staff so 30% is not happy and 70% agreed
a deal. Yes it is everybody’s right to be a member of a union but it’s also our right not to agree with the picket.
@Dave Walsh: I always found it interesting that it’s a ‘right’ to be part of a union but you’ve no ‘right’ to pass a picket , you’ll be called every name under the sun. Find it pretty hypocritical to be honest.
@Bilbo Baggins: It is a right under the constitution that you can be a member of a union. You can pass a picket if you want but of course you will be called names and be scorned for passing a picket, not because you have the right to pass picket but because it is a not a nice thing to do.
@Hans Vos: incorrect. Senior management and the Directors allowed themselves a vote on their own proposals, including 70 staff in Head Office who are not impacted by the deal at all. They gerrymandered the vote. They also didn’t allow an anonymous vote because you had to supply your name and staff number in order to vote. 96% of staff who voted in the only independent anonymous ballot rejected the deal – and that was a vote by people affected by the proposals. The company are the most profitable multinational pharma company in the world and they pay their irish workforce as low as €10 per hour. The CEO paid himself €15 million last year. These workers deserve better.
@Bilbo Baggins: where you born that way?
Lloyd have mercy!
@Gerard O’Brien:
Well done to the Lloyds workers keep up the fight. Anybody who passes an official picket should be ashamed of themselves.
They don’t deserve to serve in healtcare even tangentially.
Fire them all.
@Steven C. Schulz: This is a strike against the public safety and should be illegal.
have your say