Concern expressed after a number of asylum seekers living in Cork were given short notice to move to Donegal

Friday, 9 July 2021 11:42

Five families, who have been living in Macroom's Riverside Park Hotel for the past two years were given a weeks’ notice advising them that they are to be moved to Letterkenny

Sile Ní Dhubhghaill of Macroom Friends of Asylum Seekers says over the two years the families have integrated into the community and their children have settled into local schools and they do not want to leave Macroom

The families are due to move by the 21st of July from the Macroom centre which is classed as temporary emergency accommodation and are to be provided with "own-door" accommodation in Donegal.

The International Protection Accommodation say they're committed to ending the use of emergency accommodation and moving residents to own door accommodation which is in line with the Government's commitment to end Direct Provision by the end of 2024

However Sile Ní Dhubhghaill told RedFM News that the families should be given a choice

"My issue here, while the whole system of Direct Provision is appalling and it's a broken system, my issue here is that these people aren't being given the choice, you know. And fair enough if some families look at this decision and say oh well actually we have more space in Letterkenny and it's a bigger town, you know, fair enough but it's the fact that they're just being told, pack up your stuff, you're going in a week, you have no choice in the matter. You have no say"