Direct provision
[2] International protection applicants in direct provision are usually entitled to state-funded medical care,[3] and children have full mainstream access to the education system.
In his judgement on 14 November 2014, Justice Colm Mac Eochaidh found against the applicants on the substantive point of "inhuman and degrading treatment", but struck down the rules at that time regarding unannounced room inspections; the sign-in requirement; the requirement to notify intended absence; the rules on visitors and the lack of an independent complaints procedure.
"[17] According to responses to parliamentary debates and the RIA,[18] the majority of adults in direct provision have had their initial asylum applications rejected and are either appealing this or seeking to remain in Ireland under other criteria.
On October 31, 2018, Donnah Sibanda Vuma asked staff at the direct provision centre in Knockalisheen where she resided for bread and milk for her sick child.
[19] In 2020, direct provision was widely criticised as not conducive to the COVID-19 restrictions on social distancing, self-isolating, and cocooning for those living in its Centres.
[22] Mount Trenchard in Limerick, widely considered "the worst direct provision centre in the country due to poor facilities, overcrowding and isolation",[23] closed in February 2020, after pressure from advocacy groups, including the publication of a report by Doras based upon interviews with residents.
[28] People in direct provision also experience a variety of stressors that are not as prevalent in the general population including: legal status, a feeling of not being able to parent properly (due to lack of employment and inability to provide transportation for their children), not being able to have a job, uncertainty about involuntary transfers, language barriers, not being able to have access to food at a time when the canteen is not open, nutritional status of the food that is prepared for them, discrimination, and separation from their families or family members.
[28] Additionally, due to a combination of poverty, deprivation, social isolation, and a stressful environment at home, children and adolescents in DP are likely to experience poor mental health.
[28] Room sharing and close contact in direct provision puts asylum seekers and staff at risk of contracting COVID-19.
[31] Many asylum seekers reported that they found it difficult to follow social distancing measures when sharing amenities like rooms and bathrooms with non-family members.
[33] Direct provision sites in Kildare and Cahersiveen have demonstrated how quickly contagious illnesses such as the COVID-19 virus can spread when many people in a small centre are in close contact.
[40] In September 2019, Oughterard saw the largest ever protests against a proposed direct provision centre, which was blockaded night and day for three weeks.
