Direct provision protesters urge minister to meet them at centre

Asylum seekers have called on Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to meet them at a Cork direct provision centre where they have been protesting at conditions for the past week.

They said they will continue their protest until there is a satisfactory response with clear terms, guidelines and timelines to deal with their concerns.

The action began at the Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre (KRAC) near Cork City last Monday, when residents spoke publicly about their frustrations, some having spent a decade in the system waiting for the outcome of asylum applications or court actions. The residents of another Cork direct provision centre, in a former hotel in Glounthaune, began a separate protest last Thursday and other centres in Laois, Limerick and Westmeath have also been the scene of protests in recent weeks.