Immigrant Council calls for action on Direct Provision reports
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has stated that the government needs to start acting on reports into direct provision.
An expert group has recommended extending the right to work for asylum seekers, advocating for a move away from emergency accommodation, and a reduction in the time taken to process applications.
Speaking to Newstalk, Teresa Buczkowska from the Immigrant Council says that it's not the first time the government's been asked to make changes to the process.
"NGOs and civil-society groups are producing endless reports and submissions on what needs to be done.
"The government need to start listening to reports and putting action in place, instead of talking about it, and that's what needs to be done."
The call comes as demonstrations were organised around the country this afternoon in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters around the world, following the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week.
Protests in Ireland have sought to draw attention to unsafe living conditions in Direct Provision centres around the country, with awareness of the issue heightened in recent weeks by controversy over the moving of residents from Dublin centres to the Skellig Star hotel in Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry amid the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
