Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This morning, Mr. Justice McMahon said many of his recommendations were still to be implemented, despite the Government boast last year that 98% of them had been implemented. That is not true. The Taoiseach said people were not compelled to be there but I know plenty of these people and they would not be in there if they had an alternative. Because of the housing shortages, however, there are very few alternatives. Many children still do not feel safe in direct provision, women do not feel safe, members of the LGBT fraternity do not feel safe there and many people are still being stripped of their dignity. In April in the Mosney direct provision centre, a mother of three was hospitalised after an attempt on her life. The incident shows clearly that the direct provision system is sometimes incompatible with basic human dignity and respect for human rights. The residents of Mosney staged a protest on 25 April, which they described as a cry for help. The owner of Mosney was caught on camera trying to break up the protest and in the video one can clearly hear him telling the protestors "this will have an impact on you". It was a direct threat. The residents in direct provision are too afraid to complain about conditions for fear of marginalisation, rejection of their application or relocation by the management. Phelim McCloskey's threat, caught on camera, is evidence of this but this time the situation was too much for residents to take. These people are being brutalised by the system. The Government needs to investigate the management practices in Mosney and other direct provision centres. Inspections by the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, are woefully inadequate. Will the Taoiseach investigate these management practices?

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