Asylum seekers held in jails, officials admit

UP to 20 asylum seekers are held in prisons here on a daily basis, the Irish Prison Service revealed yesterday.

The majority are held for breaking immigration laws and an average of three are awaiting deportation.

Some are detained for only a few hours before being returned home.

Many immigrants are turned away at the airports and ports, but some are held in prison for a number of days.

Around 4,500 immigrants were refused entry into the country in the last year.

“The number of immigrants in prison any day is small and most are there for breaches of immigration law,” a prison service spokesperson said.

The Irish Refugee Council yesterday criticised the practice. “We think that prison is an unsuitable place for asylum seekers and an alternative should be found,” IRC chief executive Peter O’Mahony said.

Immigrants are held in prisons nationwide, but the majority are detained in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.

Mr O’Mahony said that he’s aware of a case where a couple with a 10-month-old baby were kept in Mountjoy.

“We would have very serious worries if there are incidents where women and children are put in prison while waiting to file an asylum application,” Mr O’Mahony said.

He said some immigrants have applied for asylum while in prison.

“A number have been able to do this but some haven’t, and that’s another worry,” he said.

Amnesty International is concerned about racism in prisons, and fears that immigrants are sent home without proper risk assessments being carried out.

The human rights lobby group is also worried that immigrants seeking asylum are regularly imprisoned.

Last year, six failed asylum seekers held in Mountjoy while awaiting deportation went on hunger strike.