Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. I am raising the question of the Courtown Hotel emergency direct provision centre, which was opened just over two years ago, to try to get clarity on its future, particularly for the residents there, of whom there are about 36. The International Protection Service, IPAS, indicated in March that it would be informing residents they would be moved on in the coming months. That was the extent of the clarity we got. The communication with residents has been far from ideal. Indeed, it seems IPAS has only been communicating with certain residents. In some cases the residents have been told they must move with less than two weeks' notice, and in some cases, only two days' notice. Very limited information is given to the families as to where they may have to move to. I must say I can empathise because emails I have sent to IPAS seeking clarity have gone either unacknowledged or unanswered.

Some of the residents there are students of Riverchapel National School or Creagh College, a secondary school, and obviously the schools would like to see those students being able to finish out the school year. There have been some assurances sought on that but it has not yet happened. There are six families with children due to go into third year this September; they have started on the junior certificate process but they do not have certainty. The Minister of State will appreciate the difficulty of students moving into an exam year being told they are being uprooted and a different school will have to be found for them. Some of the residents have secured employment in the County Wexford area, or indeed in Dublin and are now being told they must move. In the case of one family, even though they made clear they had a hospital appointment in Kilkenny for 10 June, IPAS told them they would be moving on 8 June. IPAS said it would arrange a transfer by taxi from County Monaghan to Kilkenny for the family concerned.

I am aware that on 10 June the Minister met with the Wexford Sanctuary Ambassadors. Among the ambassadors were Sufyan and Mariam, two of the residents in Courtown. They had been ambassadors talking about the importance of Ireland as a place of sanctuary. They sought clarity from the Minister not just for the residents of Courtown but more generally, that there be greater communication from IPAS to residents of direct provision centres. I know what some of those families have experienced. From speaking with them, I know they have experienced war, political oppression and hardship. They have been waiting a long period and we have many problems with direct provision and the speed with which the cases of these families are being addressed. In north Wexford these families have been welcomed and I pay tribute in particular to Mr. John Kelly in Wexford Local Development, Ms Mandi Tighe with Gorey Youth Needs, Ms Tiffy Allen of Places of Sanctuary Ireland, as well as the wider community, which has made these families feel welcome within the community. They took part in community activities. Mariam, one of the women I mentioned, was a tailor by profession and she manufactured 4,000 face masks in the early days of the pandemic and when we were under pressure sourcing personal protective equipment.

These are families who want to contribute, who have got involved and who have made the north Wexford area their home over the past two years. Their kids are in the local school and they have helped local community organisations. At the very least they are entitled to have some information about what is going on but IPAS has not provided it. I am hoping the Minister of State can provide the answers.