Up to 30 children in one direct provision centre not attending school
Irish law does not reflect an EU directive to provide school places for children in the asylum process within three months, according to a leading expert.
It comes after Newstalk discovered that up to 30 children living in emergency direct provision had not been attending school for over two months.
The children are among 100 people living in emergency accommodation at the M Hotel in Carrickmacross in County Monaghan.
Over 20 of them are children of all ages and for the past two months none of these children have been attending school.
An EU directive on reception conditions for asylum seekers states that all children in direct provision should be granted access to the education system, whether this be in local schools or in the accommodation centres themselves.
Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, said that the EU requires school places to be found for children in the asylum process within three months.
Ireland did not transpose that particular phrase into Irish law when we implemented that directive last summer, in fact, the phrase used is quite broad and places a high threshold on the government.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education, Thomas Byrne and Spokesperson on Equality, Immigration and Integration, Fiona O’Loughlin have criticised the failure of the Government to ensure that these children are afforded their legal right to education.
Deputy Byrne said: “This is disgraceful. Children in direct provision are entitled to the exact same level of access to education as any other child. Parents, regardless of whether they are in the direct provision system or not, want their children to meet their full potential.
The scale of this is particularly concerning. With up to 30 children at just one location not receiving an education, it raises concerns that this is not being systematically monitored.
Spokesperson on Equality, Immigration and Integration and Chair of the Oireachtas Education Committee, Fiona O’Loughlin said: “There are currently about 1,500 asylum seekers living in emergency accommodation. I understand approximately 300 of these are children.
“EU law requires Ireland to provide these children with access to education, but aside from that, as a caring, generous and hospitable nation we should want any child under our protection to prosper.
“The Department of Justice and Equality need to clarify and confirm that other asylum-seeking children are not being denied their rights in the same manner as those in Carrickmacross. These children should not be failed in this manner,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, the Disney store on Grafton Street in Dublin has applied for planning permission for a security gateway to stop homeless people sleeping rough at the front of the shop.
The store claims staff have been threatened and Gardaí have been called on multiple occasions to deal with anti-social behaviour.
Author and commentator Eamon Delaney said that the "endless amounts" of homeless on the streets of Dublin is "normalising homelessness" and anti-social behaviour.
"Me and many other people would be really tired of walking on the streets and seeing endless amounts of people begging, doing drugs and sleeping out and I think it's wrong, I think it's normalising homelessness and normalising what you call anti-social behaviour."
