Cost of housing asylum seekers hits €83.6m

THE cost of providing accommodation to asylum-seekers rose to €83.6 million last year, a 9% increase on the 2003 figure of €76.5m.

That is despite the fact that the number of asylum applicants has actually fallen, from a peak of more than 11,600 in 2002 to just 4,766 last year.

Owners of hotels, guesthouses and other private properties who house and feed asylum-seekers are paid rates of between €189 and €230 per person per week.

Those who provide self-catering accommodation for asylum-seekers receive rates between €133 and €147 per person per week. The costs of housing asylum-seekers in State-owned centres are lower, however, falling within the range of €83 to €135 per person per week.

There are currently 78 centres around the country, a mixture of private and State-owned properties, used for accommodation purposes.

They include former hostels, hotels, guesthouses, mobile homes, custom-built centres and, in the case of Mosney in Co Meath, a former holiday camp.

The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA), which works under the aegis of the Department of Justice, is responsible for co-ordinating services at all 78 centres, whether privately or publicly- owned.

As of April last, the centres were catering for a total of 8,010 asylum-seekers. Dublin had the largest allocation, with 1,755 asylum- seekers housed in the capital, followed by Cork with 1,155, Meath with 800, Kerry with 579, and Galway with 502.

The statistics are contained in Reception Systems, Their Capacities and the Social Situation of Asylum Applicants within the Reception System in Ireland, one of the four reports prepared by the ESRI on behalf of the European Migration Network.

The report details some of the problems which asylum-seekers frequently encounter, although it does not take a position on them.

“It is argued that asylum applicants are at increased risk of depression and institutionalisation, partly because they lack sufficient money to socialise,” the report states.

“However, the RIA maintains that a comparison of weekly allowances paid to asylum applicants in fully-catered arrangements shows that the amount paid to asylum-seekers in the Irish system compares favourably in an EU context.”

While the State does cover their accommodation and meal costs, asylum-seekers receive a weekly allowance of just €19.10 per adult and €9.60 per child per week.

Another issue is that asylum-seekers are not allowed to work here. “This policy has been widely criticised by immigrant support groups as contributing to the alienation of asylum-seekers from Irish society,” the report states.

“The Government has stressed that asylum-seekers only have temporary permission to remain in the State. It is argued that a right to work would undermine efforts to produce speedier decisions and could act as a ‘pull’ factor.”