Nessa Cosgrove (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry that I have to raise this very concerning matter today. I had hoped that common sense and the inherent human decency of officials at the Department of justice would have resolved this quietly. I, along with Deputies Martin Kenny and Eamon Scanlon and Leitrim councillor, Eddie Mitchell, have raised this issue with the Department. Deputies Marian Harkin and Frankie Feighan have also raised the matter on behalf of this family. Olesegun Ifade and his family, originally from Nigeria, moved into an IPAS centre in Dromahair, County Leitrim, when it opened 12 months ago. Olesegun has a wife and two small children, one of whom has just a week to complete his year of junior infants' class in the local national school. He could have focused his attentions on his own family but he was determined to contribute as positively as possible to the life of his new community and threw himself into work designed to bring the community together. He was an adult supervisor at the Foróige club. He helped to organise the food stall for the St. Patrick's Day parade and he is a weekly contributor to The Sligo Weekender.

Without seeking to, Olesegun Ifade became a new leader in his new community from the small, cramped conditions of an IPAS centre. However, disputes and tensions arose, which is natural from time to time in the circumstances. However, how these tensions are managed in IPAS centres is the issue I want to raise. Olesegun alleges that during the course of a dispute between families his wife was assaulted. The other party to the dispute complained to the IPAS centre management. Rather than listening and trying to de-escalate the situation, the management took it further and punished Olesegun and his family. As a result, Olesegun and his family were told they would be relocated to an IPAS centre in Athlone. This was supposed to take place on 30 May. Representations from all of the elected members in the area saw this being pushed out to 5 June and then to 13 June, due to a hospital appointment. I am now asking that it be pushed out for one more week to 20 June so that Olesegun's youngest son can finish his junior infants' year in the school. It is a matter of justice, fairness and child welfare that the deadline be pushed out for one more week. I have tried to engage the Departments of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and Education on the matter. I am hoping the Leader will bring this case to the Department of justice so that it can intervene in the matter.