Ms Kim Mufaro Justen:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and committee members for this opportunity. I am originally from Zimbabwe. I came to Ireland in 2017 and am based in Limerick city, where I recently completed my level 8 degree in social care work. I am working part time as a youth worker with Limerick Youth Service. Today I am representing Youth Work Ireland and the National Youth Council of Ireland. My main objectives today are to share my opinion on what the future island of Ireland should look like, what it needs to address and the rights it needs to protect, as well as to focus on the public policy and economic opportunities and challenges of direct provision and how it impacts young people.

Direct provision is a mechanism used by the State for people seeking international protection and was created in April 2000 due to the high numbers of people seeking asylum. Applicants are dispersed throughout the country and provided with accommodation, usually in the form of a shared room in a designated centre as well as meals and an allowance. People who live in the designated centres are known as asylum seekers. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, website states that an asylum seeker is someone whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed. It also states that every year, about 1 million people seek asylum, fleeing from their country of origin and looking for a place of safety because their own country cannot keep them safe. As asylum seekers, these people are protected by international law and can seek to be accepted as refugees in their host country. The Geneva Convention of 1951 guarantees their right to seek refuge and requires host countries to care for them while they await a decision on their status.

In Ireland, which has traditionally been a country of emigration rather than immigration, the subject of asylum seekers has received little attention. Young people suffer mentally, socially and emotionally while they are living in direct provision because of the way the system was designed. It is not intended for people to be comfortable but rather to be always on their toes, nervous and uncertain about the process of their international application because it takes so long for the Department of Justice to give its reply.

Every asylum seeker and every other being in society has the constitutional right to security and to be heard under Irish law.

If we are planning for a future shared island, it is essential to know what not to bring with us into this future we are planning. The direct provision system should be revisited and given more attention. This is because the waiting periods for processing and approval of asylum seekers are just too long. This leads to mental health issues that affect young people and families to a great extent. It is therefore essential to provide youth work and other services as these play a key role in providing support to young people in direct provision.

My hope for a future shared island is that we prioritise the discussion of the White Paper to end direct provision. As the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, stated: "As a Government, we committed to end Direct Provision and replace it with a new system that would be run on a not-for-profit basis and centred on human rights’". It is essential that all asylum seekers on the island of Ireland are treated with dignity and that young people are consulted and are part of the process of ending the direct provision system. If the White Paper is in place, accommodation will be own-door for families and provide the privacy and independence so many were not afforded over the past two decades. Single people will have own-room accommodation, ending the shared dormitory-style rooms associated with the current system.

As a young migrant person, I have hope for the future of the island of Ireland. I will end in Shona and say maita basa, thank you.