Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Ken Foxe

Over 100 Direct Provision complaints from residents in 2022 including knife attack, drug selling and theft

Residents of direct provision complained of being attacked with a knife, a manager entering their room without notice, and a roommate who was selling drugs.

The International Protection Accommodation Service said they had received 109 complaints in the first eight months of this year including the theft of personal belongings and being blocked from speaking with a doctor.

A log of complaints from the summer reveals how one person complained that their child’s father was not being allowed to visit his daughter at a centre in Dublin.

Read More: 'It is a nightmare': Families' 'heartbreaking' struggles to find homes as Ireland's housing crisis becomes emergency

In the Midlands, one resident said they did not feel safe in their accommodation and that the “manager is entering his room”.

Another case at the same centre saw a person claim to have been “attacked with a knife” and unhappiness with how centre management dealt with the incident.

In Co Clare, a complaint was logged about a roommate who was “aggressive [and] selling drugs” with the person asking if they could be moved away from them.

Bullying and an assault were also reported at a centre in Co Tipperary, according to the log of complaints released by IPAS.

In Dublin, one resident said their room had been “burglarised” while no staff or security were present with the loss of personal items.

There was also a complaint about access to a doctor at a centre in Monaghan while in Co Cork, a resident raised an issue with “children making noise”.

Other complaints included ones about the quality of food, the standard of rooms, and problems with roommates or centre managers.

Some residents raised issues after being asked to move centre while complaints were logged as well about washing facilities and receiving warning letters.

One complaint raised a delay at an onsite shop and the “insulting behaviour of another staff member”, according to the log.

IPAS said that 32 of the complaints related to issues between residents, 27 were about accommodation staff or management, and 16 concerned house rules or centre operations.

There were also 13 complaints about accommodation facilities, and six each about “culinary preferences” or which were categorised as miscellaneous.

Another five complaints related to issues with placement or requests for a transfer or move with a small number of other problems also raised.

IPAS said that in 23 cases, complaints related to more than one issue relating to accommodation or how a person was being treated.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Equality said: “IPAS is always available to deal with any complaints from residents and residents are encouraged to engage with IPAS if they are unhappy with any aspect of their accommodation.

“Minor complaints may be raised with centre managers in order for them to be resolved locally. Where a complaint is significant in nature or a resident is not comfortable raising a complaint with a centre manager, they may make the complaint directly, or through a representative authorised to act on their behalf, to the IPAS Customer Service Team.”

READ NEXT:

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.