‘Someone will die’ - IP applicants living in tents raise concerns about conditions

Asylum seekers who have been living in tents in Columb Barracks for up to six months are warning that “someone will die unless they address the issue”.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, one of the asylum seekers, who asked not to be identified in case it would affect his application, said he and many of his fellow residents are staying up all night in the barracks food hall and sleeping during the day.

He also claimed that many residents are suffering from stress, depression and physical ill-health due to their poor living conditions.

“It’s not comfortable. That’s why are not sleeping at night. We do things like play cards or watch TV at night to avoid the cold. That’s why we are sleeping for the day.

“My mental health is damaged. Everybody in here has problems – they are going to the doctor every day. The most common problems are stress and depression.”

At present, there are more than 160 men, a combination of International Protection (IP) applicants and Ukrainians, living in 21 tents. Some of the IP applicants, who come from a variety of countries including Algeria, Somalia, Algeria, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, have been living in the tents for up to six months despite being told by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) that it was a temporary measure, and that they would be moved to more suitable accommodation within four to six weeks.

On Thursday October 5, some of the IP residents held a protest outside the gates of the barracks in frustration at the failure of IPAS to improve what they see as their inhumane living conditions. The resident said that prior to the protest, a group had visited the IPAS head office in Dublin and were told their concerns would be addressed.

“There is no one to talk to or ask questions of. They are not addressing the issues. They are saying that there is no centre available right now,” the man told the Examiner.

The resident says he travelled to Ireland from a politically unstable African country in search of a better life for his family. He is, however, so disillusioned with his current situation that he is considering returning to his home country if things don’t improve.

“We are looking for a better life, but it’s worse. I don’t want to bring my children and wife to a tent like this. I am thinking about going back to my country if it stays like this for much longer. It’s damaging my mental health. If you are going to die, it doesn’t matter if it is by a bullet or by cold, it’s the same. Death is death.”

The resident said that while he likes Mullingar and its people, he and other asylum seekers are surprised at how they have been treated by the state while they wait for their applications to be processed.

“We heard that the Irish were good people, that’s why we came here. We did not expect to have a bad situation like this.

“We don’t expect five-star accommodation. We know how to survive – we don’t have a functional government in our country.

“We are not asking for a high level of accommodation.”

The resident warned that unless the living conditions of the men improve before temperatures dip further, he is worried that some of his fellow residents will end up taking their own lives.

“People are stressed and depressed. Someone will die in here if they don’t address the issue. We are keeping an eye on some of the others [who have expressed suicidal thoughts]. We say that ‘life will get better in the future, don’t worry about it. This is a challenging time but we are here with you’.”

The residents recently sent a letter to Deputy Robert Troy seeking assistance. In the letter they said that: “”We have been enduring the distressing reality of residing in inadequate tents for over five months, gravely affecting our health, wellbeing, and mental state.

“With the winter season on the horizon, the pressing need for immediate action becomes even more critical. Living in tents for such a prolongеd pеriod has alrеady rеsultеd in significant physical and еmotional challеngеs. Howеvеr, as thе wеathеr worsens, thе conditions within thеsе tеnts become increasingly unbearable, heightening thе risk to our ovеrall hеalth and wеll-bеing."

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Deputy Troy said that he has visited the barracks to speak to some of the residents and to see their living conditions. He also said that he had raised their concerns with the Minister for Integration Roderic O'Connor.

"Tents can be justified as a short-term measure, but there is no justification for people staying in the term in the longer term, especially not as we head into winter."

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Deputy Troy called for the department to look at using the existing buildings at the barracks to house asylum seekers.

He says that if the buildings had been brought back into use last year, there wouldn't be people living in tents as winter approaches.

"They are using the sanitary services of the existing buildings because there is running water and electricity. It was the wrong decision not to invest the money into the upgrade of the buildings.

"The decision was taken by someone at senior level in the department that it would have cost too much money to bring the buildings back to an acceptable state. They didn't have to turn them into a hotel, but they could have been brought back to a decent standard."

Response from IPAS

Due to the unprecedented numbers of International Protection Applicants seeking accommodation assistance, there is an acute shortfall of available accommodation.

The State has witnessed a near fourfold increase in those seeking international protection when comparing current numbers against 2017-2018 norms.

The number of people seeking international protection in recent months has shown a further increase and September has seen the highest number of monthly applications in 2023 and October is seeing a similarly large trend. In terms of broader context, the European Union saw just under 1m people claim asylum in 2022 and that number is set to exceed 1m in 2023.

As such, there has been a need for Ireland and for many Member States across Europe, to turn to movable structures such as tents and modular solutions to provide shelter and to prevent homelessness.

While the priority must remain on providing shelter in as far as possible and the use of tents is required as part of that response, the Department is endeavouring to ensure that the use of the tents is kept as short term as possible. Only 1.5% of those currently in IPAS accommodation are currently residing in tented accommodation.

The IPAS Customer Service and Resident Welfare Teams attended the centre in July to conduct a joint in-person clinic and spoke to many residents about their concerns.

Residents were reminded of the existing complaints procedure as outlined in the IPAS House Rules and encouraged to report any and all concerns to IPAS.

IPAS continually engage with Centre Managers when alerted to issues by residents at clinics or through the IPAS Helpdesk.

IPAS has been made aware of the complaints made to Centre Management on 05/10/2023 at the Columb Barracks Accommodation Centre.

Following on from dialogue with Centre Management this matter was resolved and residents returned to their accommodation. The matter is under review by IPAS in line with the existing Policy.