This article is from page 14 of the 2006-02-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
THE owners of the Clare Lodge in Ennis have received over €4.4 million in State funds to accommodate asylum seekers at its centre over the past six years, new figures reveal.
The figures show that in all, over €16 million has been spent on accommodating asylum seekers at three separate centres in Clare during the past six years.
In response to a Dáil question on the issue, the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, confirmed that the Clare Lodge on Ennis’s Carmody Street had received €4.44 million in accommodating asylum seekers since April 2000, while the owners of the Scariff Court Hotel have received €2.723 million since October 2001.
The figures provided also show that it has cost €8.8 million to operate the Government-run asylum seeker centre, Knockalisheen since October 2001.
The Clare Lodge currently has capacity for 65 asylum seekers. There is capacity for 74 at the Scariff Court Hotel, while Knockalisheen has currently 232 occupants with the centre accommodating 1,542 to date.
Knockalisheen was the State’s first purpose built accommodation for asylum seekers The average weekly occupancy in 2004 was 243 and in 2005 it was 247.63.
Costs at Knockalisheen in 2003 amounted to €2,308,476; in 2004 the figure was €2,403,166 and in 2005 it was €1,891,173. To date, in 2006, the costs are €182,270.
The large sums received by the operators of the privately-run centres are in contrast to the small amounts received by the occupants for day-to-day living expenses.
The asylum seekers receive €19.10 per week for incidental expenses – a figure that has not increased since 2000.
Orla Ní Éilí of the Ennis branch of the Irish Refugee Council yesterday called for an increase in the amount received by the asylum seekers.
“Occupants of these centres are isolated, bored and confused and I know of one case where a person has been in direct provision in Clare for the past three years.
Ms Ní Éilí cited another recent incident where an asylum seeker, living in direct provision, opted not to purchase a pair of shoes when told of the €5 cost in an Ennis charity shop.