A report claiming that two-thirds of immigrants detained in Ireland are held for more than 51 days has been described as "alarming and absolutely unacceptable" by the Opposition today.
Speaking at the publication of the Immigration-related Detention in Irelandreport, Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuiness said: "It is alarming and absolutely unacceptable that some two-thirds of the 2,798 people held in prison for immigration-related reasons are detained for periods of longer than 51 days."
Ms McGuiness, who was part of a delegation of MEPs that visited Cloverhill Prison in September to assess the situation of detained third-country nationals, added: "These people are not criminals, yet they are detained in prison, deprived of their freedom in a foreign country without, in many cases, access to family members."
The report, which was carried out by a human rights consultancy firm, found 2,798 people were held between 2003-2004 and called for sweeping changes in the use of immigration-related detention.
"People can be detained for immigration reasons without being charged with any criminal offence. They are a particularly disadvantaged group, who are away from the public eye and may not have access to services available for other immigrants," Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) spokesperson Denise Charlton said today.
The independent report - which was published jointly by the Irish Refugee Council, the ICI and the Irish Penal Reform Trust - found over 90 per cent of people detained for immigration-related reasons were held in either Cloverhill Prison or the Dochas Centre at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.
The report found male and female immigration detainees were being kept in overcrowded conditions alongside suspected and convicted criminals, and that some two-thirds of the people detained in 2004 were held in prison for periods of longer than 51 days.
Claire Hamilton from the Irish Penal Reform Trust said the findings of the research had shown prisons were not an appropriate place to hold immigration detainees.
Peter O'Mahony of the Irish Refugee Council said there had been an increase in the numbers of people detained for immigration-related reasons due to the introduction of a range of statutory detention powers.
PA