Direct provision residents fail to speak out over ‘troublemaker’ label fears

The Ombudsman received 97 formal complaints from residents of direct provision centres last year, with some asylum seekers claiming they were reluctant to complain about issues where they lived for fear of being labelled “troublemakers”.

Of the 97 complaints lodged with the Ombudsman since last April, just 10 were upheld but assistance was given in another 28 cases.

Thirty complaints related to transfers, half of which were not upheld. According to the Ombudsman, many complaints are due to a transfer request not being facilitated, often because there is no suitable capacity at another centre.