ALMOST 100 male residents of the Great Western Hostel in Galway walked out of their accommodation yesterday at 6am, after the State’s Reception and Integration Agency issued notice to quit to several residents.
The agency issued a notice, dated May 30th, to a number of residents, stating that as they were “not signing” the hostel’s register they were deemed “absent” and should abandon their bed spaces.
It was the second protest in a fortnight by asylum seekers in Galway over issues relating to conditions and to delays in handling asylum applications. Two weeks ago, a similar protest took place at Lisbrook House, formerly the Ibis hotel, on the city’s outskirts.
Speaking after yesterday’s protest, Fine Gael councillor and former Galway city mayor Pádraig Conneely called on Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to review the system, which denies many adult asylum seekers the right to education and training.
Kwabena Selby, from Ghana, a spokesman for the 145 male residents from a number of states in Africa and the Middle East, said there was a build-up of frustration in the hostel, where asylum seekers have waited up to 10 years seeking refugee status.
“There are 6,000 people seeking asylum and on direct provision of €19 and 10 cent a week, plus food and accommodation,” he said.
“We would like to be able to work and contribute to Irish society, or at least to be able to train and improve our skills . . . We are away from our families and we are in limbo.”
Several residents from Cameroon, Congo, Algeria and Afghanistan said there was no hot water in showers; there were restrictions at night-time to access to television, the self-catering kitchen and the pool room; and there was no Wi-Fi for internet access.
“Some of us did English classes through refugee support groups but now this money has been cut back and we cannot even study. We are depressed and sometimes we cannot sleep,” said one.
Congolese resident Kamuleta, a diabetic, said he was forced to check his blood-sugar level in toilet facilities used by 20 people. A resident from the Middle East with a heart condition said his condition had deteriorated due to lack of access to medical treatment.
Tríona Nic Ghiolla Choille, director of the Galway Refugee Support Group, said the direct provision system was originally designed for six-month periods at most, and the length of time applicants were kept waiting for a decision was far too long.
She described as a “disgrace” remarks made by Department of Justice secretary general Seán Aylward to the United Nations Committee Against Torture last week in which he claimed the asylum system was being undermined by misinformation, propaganda and what he said was a “legal racket” among immigration lawyers.
Ms Nic Ghiolla Choille said it was well known that other payments for exceptional needs had been cut back.
She said Ireland already had the lowest rate in the EU of granting refugee status to asylum seekers, having fallen below 1.5 per cent in 2010. The EU average is 27 per cent.