Minister vows to reform asylum system

The Direct Provision system for asylum-seekers has been branded "inhumane" by the Equalities Minister as major changes were promised

However, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, minister with special responsibility for equality and new communities, was attacked by critics for not acting quickly enough to reform the way asylum-seekers are treated.

Mr Ó Ríordáin’s remarks followed reports by RTÉ that some women in the centres have turned to prostitution in order to provide for their families as they are banned from working and receive an allowance of only €19.10 per week.

The Equalities Minister said he was setting up a working group to examine how to change the situation, which he wanted to report back by the end of December.

“I am determined to make big changes.

“It’s not a system that I can stand over. It’s not a system that I believe is humane.

“It’s not a system that I think anybody who has a true belief in social justice or in living in a true or equal republic is a system we want to see maintained in its current form,” Mr Ó Ríordáin told RTÉ.

Critics called on the minister to bring-in reform faster as asylum seekers living in a mobile home park at Lissywollen Accommodation Centre outside Athlone have boycotted the food provided by authorities in protest at their living conditions.

The action follows on from similar protests at the Mount Trenchard centre in Limerick last month.

Complaints about the Athlone facility, which is home to nearly 300 people, half of whom are women and children, focus on the quality of food; availability of laundry facilities and repairs to the mobile homes.

The Equalities Minister said that it was intolerable that some people had to wait up to nine years to have their cases decided upon in a system that will cost the State €51m to administer this year.

Mr Ó Ríordáin said he wanted to bring the process time down to 12 months, but would not be drawn on whether he believed asylum- seekers should be allowed to work as they are in other European countries.

“I’m very sympathetic to plight of those in the system who feel their lives are worthless, I understand that.

“We want to have a system that is fair, humane, and also want to ensure that we can cope with the number of people who come here.

“I don’t think we’ve got that balance right and we are going to tackle that issue in the working group,” the minister said.

The €19.10 per week payment for asylum-seekers has not changed since 2000, but they are entitled to exceptional needs payments and back to school allowances.

New legislation on how to process people entering the system was expected to go before the Oireachtas next year, the Equalities Minister said.