Sir, Comhlamh, the Irish Association of Returned Development Workers, is deeply concerned at the position which refugees find themselves in on arrival in Ireland. Refugees are faced with an almost total collapse of the State's support services and with an increasingly hostile, and sometimes even racist, public mood.
The media coverage of incidents involving a small number of asylum seekers have been used to stereotype and attack all refugees here. This coverage is extremely upsetting to people who are already vulnerable as refugees seeking safety against torture, unjust imprisonment and death.
Given our own history, Irish people are aware of what emigration can contribute to a society. Comhlamh's 400 members, who have worked as development workers in almost all countries of the third world, are very conscious of the positive value of contacts with other cultures.
The recent passing of the Refugee Act is the first real sign that Ireland is living up to its obligations to receive and provide refuge. We would now urge the parties forming the next Government to move immediately to put in place the procedures for the efficient and comprehensive examination of claims. Greatly increased resources are needed in all the agencies handling asylum applicants and providing advice. At present, most of the burden of support and advice is falling on the Irish Refugee Council, which is a voluntary organisation and heavily under resourced.
We support the call by the Irish Refugee Council for an immediate task force or working group of Government Departments, statutory bodies and voluntary agencies to provide a definite plan of action for the reception of asylum seekers in Ireland. Yours etc.,
Comhlamh,
The Irish Association of Returned Development Workers,
Mount Street,
Dublin 2.