Irish Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, has announced that the closure of Galway’s largest asylum-seeker accommodation centre, Lisbrook House, will be deferred until he has reviewed the reason for the decision.
The Department’s announcement last week to close the centre and relocate over 270 asylum seekers across the country had been met with several protests outside the hostel itself as well as lobbying by various NGOs and politicians.
Sue Conlan of the Irish Refugee Council welcomed the Minister’s decision to review as “pragmatic” considering that many of the residents were children and it was the beginning of the school year. Click here to read a press release from IRC.
Fiona Finn, CEO of Nasc, said that although some closures may be necessary, they can be done in a way that shows respect for the families and warned against waiting until the last minute to inform families with children that they will be moving to another area of the country. She said “any future closures should be respectful of people’s lives, of families’ integration into their communities, and of children’s involvement in school and other activities”. Click here to read a press release from Nasc.
Click here to read an Irish Times article on the issues.
Meanwhile, FLAC’s Habitual Residence Condition Guide has recently been updated. Click here to access the latest version.