This piece has been updated with a response from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth received on the 7/12/2023.
A family of five from Bangladesh were given their own apartment in Co. Westmeath only hours after arriving in the State according to Senator Sharon Keogan.
I received a call from an area in Westmeath where a family travelled from Bangladesh, flew into Belfast Airport last week, travelled down to Dublin to IPAS and were given their OWN front door for a NEW 3-bed apartment. They had resided in the UK for some time before travelling.… https://t.co/ZWoAMIpNd9
— Senator Sharon Keogan (@SenatorKeogan) December 4, 2023
According to documentation from the Department of Justice, which has been seen by Gript, the family arrived in Ireland on the 28th of November after spending 25 days in the UK and travelling to Dublin via Belfast.
The documents also note that the family left their country of origin on 11/10/2023 and that their entry into Ireland was “illegal”.
Locals in Coole, Co. Westmeath who have been holding protests at the site of 12 refurbished apartments which have been leased to the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) told Gript they met the family on their arrival at the facility last Tuesday the 28th of November.
A local woman who is part of the group of concerned residents known collectively as ‘Coole Concerns’ told Gript that at about 6:30 that evening a taxi had ferried the family to the site of a newly refurbished housing development in the area.
The woman said locals were holding a ‘peaceful protest’ when the family arrived.
A man who was part of the protest at the time told Gript a small group of about 5 – 7 locals had seen the taxi which he described as a “caddy” like vehicle drive into the complex and that a series of banging noises followed.
The taxi then left the area with some of the protestors deciding to investigate the source of the sounds.
The man said he saw the family enter into the lobby of a GP’s office where the lights were still on but that a lady inside had shown them out “presumably because the surgery was closed for the evening.”
The man said that when the family emerged from the GP’s office the father approached the locals looking for help.
Witnesses say the man had ‘little English’ and produced documents from the Department of Justice telling the protestors that his family had arrived in Belfast before travelling to Dublin and that they had been sent from an office in Dublin to the area by taxi.
The documents purported to be from the Department of Justice and said that the family had arrived in Ireland from the UK on the 28th of November – which is the same date as their asylum application was lodged.
Locals have described the village of Coole as being home to around 200 people “on a good weekend” saying that there is little in the way of amenities and that Government plans to house 98 asylum seekers in the village are ‘unreasonable’.
Gript contacted the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth asking how long it takes international applicants to be housed from the time of application.
We also asked if it is the policy of the Department of Integration to house families in ‘own door’ accommodation such as houses or apartments.
DCEDIY said, “International Protection (IP) applicants are accommodated in IPAS centres, Emergency centres, the National Reception Centre, and tented accommodation.”
“In face of the significant shortfall in available accommodation, the International Protection Procurement Service (IPPS) has contracted a significant amount of private accommodation of various configurations. Emergency accommodation is provided to IP applicants in a variety of settings, including guest houses, apartment, hostels, and hotels.”
“Despite intensive efforts to source emergency accommodation, the Department is currently not in a position to provide accommodation to all international protection applicants due to the severe shortage of accommodation. Department officials are working to bring more bed spaces into use, and since January 2022 have brought over 10,000 bed spaces into use to accommodate those who arrive in Ireland seeking International Protection (IP).”
“The State has a legal obligation to assess the claims of those who seek IP, and in that time, to provide accommodation and supports in line with the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (SI 230 of 2018), to those that require it.”