This article is from page 6 of the 2013-10-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE Irish asylum system treats emigrants like “prisoners” and is need of urgent reform. That is the opinion of North Clare Senator and Fine Gael spokesperson on Justice in the Seanad, Martin Conway, who visited two direct provision centres last week. Conway, who is also heading up Seanad group of reform of the Irish asylum system, believes that delays in the speed at which applications are processed is creating major difficulties for asylum seekers and increasing costs for the State. “I found that the management in the centres were doing their best to deal with problems as they arose and the residents said that they felt like they were in jail. There could be six residents in one room in these facilities and eventually, living like that, they become worn down,” he said. “Their big issue is that they don’t know the length of time they will spend in the facility. Some of them could be there waiting for 10 years before their cases to be heard and that is not acceptable.” The cost of providing direct provision centres for asylum seekers in Ireland is drastically higher than in it in many of our EU neighbours. The Portuguese system costs just over € 1 million to run each year compared to € 55 million in Ireland. “While the Portuguese system is not perfect, the big difference between here [Ireland] and Portugal is that the most a person will be kept is a centre over there is six to 12 months, while in Ireland people are kept for anything up to ten years before their case is heard. “We need to get our act together on this issue. Million of Irish people have emigrated over the years, some were treated appallingly and other were treated very well. As a country with this history we need to do the right thing for the people who come into this country, especially asylum seekers. “If the system worked better and quicker it would certainly be cheaper. No one seems to be happy with the system. There is a better way of managing this situation and I think we have a duty of care to people which is not being met in this system.”