Residents at a direct provision accommodation centre for asylum-seekers in Tralee, Co Kerry, were yesterday refusing to eat the food provided. One family said it is determined to return to its country of origin.
Two families and individuals of Czech and eastern European origin who spoke to reporters at the door of the former Johnston Marina Hotel complained of lack of variety in the food.
They also wanted friends to be able to visit their rooms and wanted facilities such as a toaster and microwave.
It was the third day of their protest. All of the 24 adults had refused to eat the centre's food since Saturday, they said. They complained of disrespectful remarks by a member of staff and of bad language.
However, Campbell Services, which manages the centre, said the dispute, which began on Saturday after an exchange of words with a security guard, was being led by a small group of families in the centre, which currently accommodates 65 people.
The school-going children had gone to school yesterday with packed lunches, and some people had eaten in the dining room, Ms Laura Curtin, marketing manager with Campbell Services said.
An 8-week ethnic meal rota had been worked out with the residents and there were ideas boxes and weekly meetings.
At one stage, some 35 different nationalities were accommodated at the centre in Tralee, she said.
Because of health and safety reasons, hot food could not be allowed in the families' rooms, although cold food was allowed.
In general, staff and residents got on well, Ms Curtin said.
They asked the subcontractor who supplies security to remove a member of security staff following the exchange of words.
Campbell Services manages most of the Department of Justice reception and integration centres and employs a strict "anti-racist and anti-confrontation policy", Ms Curtin said.
Mr Stepan Weimar (48), his wife, Renata, and daughter Sarah (12) have lived in the centre for five months. A son lives in a separate centre nearby.
For five years before this the family had lived in the UK.
The food was "always the same" - mash, rice, gravy, chicken, lamb and fish, he complained, with the help of translation by his daughter Sarah.
Adults received €19 a week and it was difficult to buy food, although they were doing so, he said.
Breakfasts consisted of bread, cornflakes and tea or coffee, with juice at times, but lunch and dinner were generally the same - fish, or meat, sometimes pasta and always with lots of mash, followed by fruit, the Weimars said.
Mr Zdenk Slivka (27) said he was returning to the Czech Republic with his wife, Silvia Markowecova, and their two children, aged 14 months and five years. They had been in Ireland for six months. As well as the food, he complained about the attitude of the Department of Justice officials in Dublin.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said Campbell Services' record was excellent. The capacity at the Johnson Marina was 120, and there was plenty of room, she said. The majority of residents at the moment were of East European origin, with around 20 African people.
A recent health study on the needs of almost 1,000 asylum-seekers in the Southern Health Board region identified food as a "most contentious issue", involving matters of control and boredom, with respondents saying they structured their day around meals in the absence of other activities.