The Department of Integration will examine concerns raised by the Irish Refugee Council about the services being provided to International Protection applicants at Citywest.
The group wrote to Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman in recent weeks to raise concerns that women and children were being exposed to “grievous risks” at the Dublin centre.
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The Irish Refugee Council has now raised concerns about the safety of women and children at the Citywest facility in Dublin.
In a letter reported upon by RTÉ, the group said that they had witnessed “grievous risks” at the centre during a visit on November 11 in the care and facilities being offered to “women, minors, and those with specific vulnerabilities".
According to RTÉ, the letter reads: "In our opinion there exists in Citywest a risk of harm to children, owing to a total lack of privacy in terms of accommodation, the co-mingling of unrelated adults and children and the lack of experienced and trained child protection personnel on the ground.”
The group also raised concerns about shower facilities.
They called for people to be removed from Citywest as soon as possible.
A spokesman for the Department of Integration confirmed to the Irish Mirror that checks will be carried out at the Citywest facility.
He insisted the “sleeping area is separated into dedicated dormitories for single men, single women, and for families”.
“In the current circumstances, the long-term closure of Citywest is not a viable option,” they said.
“Child protection and welfare at Citywest is of paramount concern to the Department.
“The Department will examine the recommendations made by the Irish Refugee Council with a view to improving conditions at Citywest.”
The Department said that there is a full-time TUSLA social worker on site in Citywest.
The spokesperson also added that shower facilities are “supervised by security staff at all times”.
They continued: “Each unit consists of a single-door self-contained shower cubicle. Only one person at a time is permitted to enter the shower cubicle, with the exception where children are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
“Unaccompanied children are not permitted to use the showers.”
Jennifer Whitmore, the Social Democrats Integration spokesperson, said that the Government must listen to the Irish Refugee Council’s concerns.
“The Government has a duty of care to the people that they are providing this accommodation to and, in particular, to vulnerable women and children,” she said.
“It is really important that if an independent voice is making recommendations that they take it on board.”
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