At the moment, people waiting for decisions on their asylum applications lose all kinds of assistance – not just housing – if they find an alternative place to live.
Some parents living communally in a direct-provision centre in the city say they’re especially worried about the possibility that Covid-19 will spread from schools to their accommodation.
Restrictions on jobs asylum seekers can hold, and a need to renew their permission to work every six months, mean it’s hard to get a permanent, high-skilled job, some job seekers say.
The government restricts the rights of asylum seekers living in direct-provision centres – often for years – to have visitors. “It’s not a good life,” says Ellie Kisyombe.
Some critics of Direct Provision highlight the potential economic contribution that is being wasted, but that is not the main reason the system is wrong, writes UCD lecturer Andy Storey.
One woman says she got chicken from the direct-provision centre’s shop that was two months past-date. The centre’s management refutes this in “the strongest possible terms”.
Leaving the provision of housing to profit-making private-sector actors is bad enough, but charging them with the reception of those seeking refuge from persecution is unforgivable.
