Govt denies asylum seekers move contravenes human rights
Asylum seekers are set to protest after it was confirmed today that more than 150 of them are to be moved from the Mosney accommodation centre in Co Meath.
The Department of Justice has told the residents they are to be transferred to different hostels across the country as part of a cost-saving exercise.
Some of the foreign nationals are now threatening to go on a hunger strike and to hold other demonstrations ahead of the move next week.
Many of the 800 residents at the facility at the former holiday camp at Laytown have lived there for years.
It was opened in 2001 as part of the Government strategy to cope with spiralling numbers of people entering the State seeking asylum.
The Department of Justice has denied claims that the move is contravening the residents’ human rights.
It stressed that only single men and women are being moved and the transfers will have no impact on their legal claims for asylum.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern yesterday unveiled a new immigration bill aimed at streamlining the asylum process.
