Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In light of recent events in Moville, Oughterard, Ballinamore and Achill, I believe the Government must handle our international responsibilities for accommodating asylum seekers in a far more open and consultative manner. I condemn unreservedly the attack on Deputy Martin Kenny's home, his person, his property and his wife and family. Proper consultative mechanisms need to be put in place with the local community before it is decided to open a direct provision centre in any area.

To bring people along and get buy-in from them, one must keep them apprised of what is going on. Locals have genuine concerns about the ability of their area to serve additional people and those concerns should be openly addressed in full. Consideration must be given to GP availability, school places and other such matters. The secretive way in which the Department of Justice and Equality approaches the tendering process heightens concerns and must be addressed.

I am most familiar with the situation in Ballinamore because it is in my constituency. It was proposed to put 130 asylum seekers into a town with a population of 900 without any consultation. Local people were concerned by the proposal and worried about the capacity of the facilities and services in the town. It is important to point out that refugees were previously housed in Ballinamore. There were more than 40 of them in the local hotel. They integrated into the community, got on well with it and were warmly welcomed. They moved on for various reasons. The building in which they were housed was not particularly suitable, so they moved to other places.

The direct provision centre in Sligo has a significant number of residents. As a previous speaker mentioned, the asylum seekers get citizenship and move on and it works out quite well. Ten such families have moved into my home town in recent times. They have been very well received and go about their business. Their children go to school and play for local football clubs. The families are well and truly integrating into the community. That is the way it should be. It is the best way to go. There have been no issues or concerns. Everybody is happy enough with it.

We should establish a consultation process between local communities and the Department of Justice and Equality in towns where it is proposed to situate new refugee accommodation. That should happen before the procurement process begins in earnest. Detailed plans should be provided to the local community to include details of how infrastructure such as GP hours, school places, etc., would be improved to accommodate the increased population.

Increased resources should be provided for the hearing of asylum applications and appeals. That would reduce the delays experienced by people awaiting a final decision and would mean less time spent in direct provision system. That would reduce the cost to the State and the impact on asylum seekers. We should extend the remit of the Ombudsman to include the power to assess the administrative functions of the asylum application process. That is long overdue and should be done as quickly as possible.

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