Accommodation and Welfare
Doras has been a strong advocate for ending the Direct Provision system since our establihsment in the year 2000. We are committed to campaigning for a new reception system that respects the dignity, human rights and well-being of international protection applicants in Ireland. Our work in the area of Accommodation and Welfare focuses on identifiying and addressing sub-standard accommodation and welfare issues in the international protection system.
Doras has continuously advocated for change to the Direct Provision system of institutionalised accommodation for international protection applicants. We believe it creates barriers to integration, contributes to poor mental and physical health, and leads to social exclusion.
We welcomed the publication of the government’s White Paper on ending Direct Provision in February 2021. It outlined a plan on how it would do that by the end of 2024, while transitioning to a new not-for-profit reception system. We are also part of the Standing Together Against Direct Provision coalition that calls for a humane alternative that respects the human rights and dignity of international protection applicants.
We have also actively campaigned for HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) to be given the mandate for independent inspections of Direct Provision centres, until the new permanent system comes into force.
Unfortunately, the work to end Direct Provision is far from over. There are now significantly more people in State provided accommodation centres as a result of the arrival of people from Ukraine under the temporary protection directive. We have ongoing concerns about the lack of standards for emergency/temporary accommodation, and call on government to develop and implement a child protection and welfare policy for refugee reception and accommodation.
Through our Accommodation and Welfare project we have documented a range of child protection and welfare issues including reports of children feeling unsafe, bullying, unsuitable food, and poor living conditions.
We encourage residents and others to provide feedback on accommodation centres currently in use for beneficiaries of temporary protection and international protection applicants on our accommodation welfare reporting tool.
