Dr. Salome Mbugua:

As Deputy Kenny has said, more international protection applicants are coming in and most of them are in emergency accommodation centres. Although they are provided with housing and food, our research in AkiDwA shows there is a feeling of powerlessness because of the lack of urgency. People are put in a situation in which they do not know what will happen tomorrow. Although people may have arrived 18 months ago, they are still there. Sometimes there is a delay in getting medical cards and other services. A good example of what has been happening is a project in Citywest, where most international protection applications are, which provides psychosocial support. This is very necessary to be able to support people who have come from conflict or war-torn countries. This psychosocial support is what is most immediately needed for people to be able to explore what happened before they left their country, what happened when they were transiting to Ireland and what has happened since they have been in Ireland.

We cannot say there are no supports but there is a feeling of powerlessness. My organisation deals with women. Sometimes women are in these accommodation centres without a medical card for three or four months. They do not know what will happen next. My colleague mentioned vulnerability assessments. Some of these people have mental health needs. After they fill in the vulnerability assessment forms, they are not called to be assessed or checked on to see how they can be supported and helped.