Concerns raised over ‘gross inadequacy’ of Citywest refugee transit hub

An internal report raised concerns over the “gross inadequacy” of the State’s transit hub for Ukrainian refugees, with a lack of beds leaving some sleeping on chairs for up to 30 days.

The report warned the level of sleep deprivation among hundreds of asylum seekers left on chairs without beds at night in the Citywest centre in Dublin was a “serious health concern”.

Safetynet Primary Care, an organisation commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to conduct medical assessments of asylum seekers, produced the report on foot of health concerns for those in the transit hub.

The December 8th, 2022, report, sent to the Department of Integration, said of 52 asylum seekers assessed by the organisation, around half the group did not have a bed or mattress to sleep on.

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In one case, an asylum seeker said they had been sleeping on a chair for 30 days, being woken up at 6am each morning when the lights came on in the centre.

The report was released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, along with internal department correspondence.

It said many asylum seekers in the facility were “very vulnerable”, having survived trauma in their countries of origin.

“The sleep deprivation experienced by the hundreds of people at the centre because they are not provided with beds is a serious health concern,” it said.

The report criticised the “gross inadequacy” of conditions in Citywest, with less than 400 beds to cater for more than 900 people sleeping in the transit hub.

The State has been under major pressure to accommodate the numbers continuing to arrive fleeing the war in Ukraine, as well as asylum seekers from other countries.

Last month the department was forced to close the Citywest transit hub to new arrivals, with many asylum seekers arriving into the country told the State could not provide them shelter.

The Safetynet report highlighted multiple cases where asylum seekers were left on chairs in the centre for more than two weeks.

One man told medical staff he had been on a chair for 15 nights in a row: “I am so tired because I never get any sleep ... I cannot sleep sitting up all the time”. The report said during a medical assessment it was clear the man was “completely exhausted”.

The report said in another case an asylum seeker said they had “not slept for 10 days” as they had no bed.

Notes from a December 6th department meeting discussing Citywest stated concerns were raised about staff safety, due to the facility “operating in excess” of its fire safety cert.

The meeting also discussed fears the department could be “exposed to [the] possibility of litigation”, minutes show.

In a December 16th email, officials discussed a proposal to swap beds and mattresses in the centre with bunk beds, to increase the number of beds from 370 to around 550. The internal email said this would “greatly enhance” living conditions, as well as improve compliance with fire safety regulations.

A department spokesman said since the Safetynet report the numbers sleeping in Citywest had dropped from 900 to around 780, adding it continued “to endeavour to provide a bed to all those in need”. The number of beds in the facility had also been increased from 370 to 600, the spokesman said.