‘Substandard’ asylum centre given quality mark

AN asylum seeker centre where standards were severely criticised by Oireachtas committee members last week had recently received a ‘Q’ mark for quality from a private inspection firm.

The St Patrick’s Accommodation Centre, on the outskirts of Monaghan Town and home to 200 asylum seekers, was criticised for providing substandard accommodation by members of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children.

Committee member Cork Labour TD Kathleen Lynch said: “At the centre, we saw families with three children and another on the way living in what you would consider to be one small average bedroom. One small window badly ventilated, just awful.”