Romanian family challenges M50 removal

ONE of the Romanian families camped at a roundabout near Ballymun on the M50 motorway has brought a High Court challenge to efforts by the Justice Minister to have them removed.

Meanwhile, the Romanian ambassador said the families have permanent addresses in Romania — and she accused them of lying about conditions being worse in their home country.

Yesterday, Radu and Mariora Rostas and their nine-year-old child Dana were granted leave to bring judicial review proceedings against the Minister for Justice after he initiated removal proceedings against them.

They are also challenging a requirement for them to sign on daily at a Garda station. They said this measure was an “unnecessary and disproportionate interference” with their rights to reside in the State.

The High Court also granted leave to another Romanian at the camp, also named Mariora Rostas, who has a six-month-old baby, to bring proceedings against the Health Service Executive (HSE) aimed at securing family support services.

According to Romanian

Ambassador Silvia Stancu Davidoiu, the claim by some of the 86 Romas that they lived in makeshift tents in a rubbish dump back home was a “deliberately repeated falsity”, and also accused support groups of misleading the public about the Romas’ background.

It was claimed last week the Romas experienced racist attacks and slurs at the M50, where they are living in unsanitary conditions. Many of the Romas arrived in January, but with no visas they cannot work and are not entitled to welfare.

Ms Davidoiu disputed claims the Romas faced discrimination back home.

She accused both Pavee Point and the Roma Support Group of spearheading a campaign using “mendacious assertions aimed at misleading the Irish public” about the families’ plight.

“We are first and foremost concerned about the attempts to manipulate the Irish public with a blend of untrue declarations and distortions of facts.

“For the sake of correctly informing the Irish citizens, we have to mention that the persons in the M50 roundabout were not homeless in Romania, some of them having permanent addresses at apartments situated in blocks of flats. The claim of living in makeshift tents in a rubbish dump back in Romania is a deliberately repeated falsity.”

Pavee Point disputed the embassy’s claims. The support group’s assistant director, Martin Collins, admitted the Roma claims were anecdotal. However, he added: “The Romas have consistently said to us that conditions are intolerable back home.

“The fact they have refused free flights home and are living on a roundabout without sanitation and electricity says it all.”