Gardai in Cork have warned the Directorate of Asylum Support Services that a difficult situation exists in one of its centres in the city. The centre accommodates more than 260 asylum-seekers of 25 nationalities and from various cultural and religious backgrounds.
They are being housed at North Quay Place in an apartment complex formerly occupied by students. According to a senior Garda source, there are tensions because of religious differences and the fact residents are not allowed to bring women friends back to their accommodation at night. The apartment block is overseen by a security firm. The tensions are heightened because of uncertainty as to whether they will be permitted to remain in Ireland once their papers have been processed.
"The situation is not being helped by the fact that there is a hard core of about 20 individuals who have come to the attention of the gardai on a regular basis . . . We feel the situation has become quite explosive - a time bomb, you might say - and there is a danger that someone will be hurt or injured unless the numbers in the complex are reduced.
"We have discussed this with the directorate and they are aware of our concerns. It should be said as well that our community gardai have done excellent work in establishing a rapport with the majority of asylum-seekers in the complex who welcome their advice and support. But our fear is that too many people from too many different backgrounds are being housed together in the same place.
"We believe the atmosphere in the complex is volatile and unless the cultural mix is diffused, almost certainly there will be trouble ahead. We are well aware, too, of the difficulties faced by the directorate and of the huge number of cases its staff is trying to cope with. Our concern is that a solution must be found quickly to the problem in this particular complex," the source said.
Gardai say their presence is required at the complex on a daily basis and that the ban on female company seems to be particularly offensive to the residents, some of whom have tried elaborate ruses to circumvent it.
"On one day alone recently five emergency calls to the complex were received by ourselves as well as the fire brigade and ambulance services. Some of the residents were clearly trying to distract the security personnel who look after the premises, in an effort to get girls in.
"Some of the races don't mix particularly well, and others cannot get along because of religious differences.
"Most of the residents understand that the gardai have a job to do, but others are openly hostile. Recently, for their own safety, gardai who had arrested a man at the complex had to release him again when other residents began to gather and the situation became extremely threatening.
"One man wanted for questioning in relation to a serious offence has disappeared. We think a reduction in numbers and the removal of a handful of certain individuals to different accommodation might go a long way towards alleviating the situation," the Garda source added.
According to the asylum services directorate there are a total of 598 asylum-seekers in Cork city and county.
The largest group is accommodated at the North Quay Place complex and the next largest at the Ashbourne House Hotel (86), where a couple from Ivory Coast lost their 18-month-old son last week in a tragic accident.
In the Clonakilty Lodge Hotel, there are 77 asylum-seekers; 58 at the Cork Airport Hotel; 54 at the Golflinks Hotel, Glengarriff; 48 at Lakeside House, Millstreet and six in Youghal.
Working with local liaison groups and through the directorate's officers, the asylum-seekers have been largely well received and the process of integration has been going smoothly.
According to a spokesman for the directorate, when things run to plan there is little media attention and the asylum-seekers don't make the news. However, whenever there are isolated problems, the media seem to pounce on them, often compounding an already sensitive position.
"There is no point in saying the situation is not difficult. It is hard on the asylum-seekers and it is hard on the people working with them, often against the odds, trying to smooth the path. There is a constant need to find and provide new accommodation, and as up to 1,000 men, women and children arrive seeking asylum each month, that is proving increasingly difficult.
"By now, the directorate has acquired most of the obvious available accommodation.
"Our immediate concern has to be accommodating and feeding these people when they arrive and of course there will be tensions. We are in constant touch with the Garda.
"In the case of North Quay Place, we have told the authorities our intention is to reduce the numbers there, but we had to close one facility in Cork recently because of fire safety concerns and that left us with the problem of finding emergency accommodation for almost 100 people. The only immediate option was to house some of them in North Quay Place," the spokesman said.
In the 75 centres outside Dublin, located in 24 counties, some 4,000 asylum-seekers are in the care of the State and awaiting a decision on their ultimate status.
In Dublin's inner city alone, there are more than 4,000 asylum-seekers. It is clear that while the directorate is doing everything it can to cope with the situation, issues other than the immediate problem of finding accommodation are beginning to arise and must be addressed.