Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 November 2019

Provision of Accommodation and Ancillary Services to Applicants for International Protection: Statements

 

6:30 pm

Photo of Lisa ChambersLisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Loughlin for sharing time. There is consensus on several issues. We all accept we have international possibilities, we all feel genuinely for people coming here seeking refuge and we all know it is a difficult task and that there not an easy alternative to direct provision, so we agree on those things.

In particular, I want to raise with the Minister of State and put on the record the issue that occurred in my constituency in Achill. It has been very difficult for the community there. I agree with the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, that the information vacuum caused huge problems. The way the community and every elected Member in County Mayo found out about the emergency accommodation was through a Facebook post. That is not acceptable and we can do better than that. The information changed. It took us a number of days to get information on basic questions such as who was coming, when they were coming and what was the constitution of the group. It went from being 30 men to 13 women to 25 families. When there is changing information and information coming through Facebook, when there is a lock-down in the Department, when basic questions are not answered, people get worried and scared and that vacuum is filled with fear.

I hope we learn from that mistake. Consultation with communities is paramount and it has to happen. The current process employed by the Department is not working. If it continues to do things the way it has done them in Achill, it will have problems everywhere else as well. The community there feels aggrieved by how it has been portrayed in the media and how it has been treated by the Department. The lack of consultation, transparency and honesty with the community has created divisions, hurt and anger. I hope we will learn from this.

I want to put on record that the people of Achill are the most welcoming people. It is a tourism destination. I travel there almost on a weekly basis. They are the kindest, most welcoming people one will ever encounter and they will open their hearts and their homes. However, what has happened in the community is a direct result of the Department's mishandling and mismanagement of this issue. I hope we never see the like of it again anywhere else in the country.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.