Co Tipp town calls on Govt to let ex-asylum seekers stay

A campaign is under way in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary to allow 20 families who have been granted Leave to Remain in Ireland to stay in the accommodation which IPAS has provided for them until now.

The families have lived in the Riverside Apartments in the town for five years, having moved in as asylum seekers in 2019 as part of an agreement between Government, local residents and themselves.

But now that they have been given Leave to Remain status, they are no longer entitled to live in IPAS-provided housing and are facing eviction within weeks.

The Borrisokane Liaison Committee – which helped negotiate the 2019 agreement that led to the families moving into the Riverside complex – is hoping that the Taoiseach will intervene in the issue.

The families say that they have no problem with paying a fair rent to stay in the Riverside, as moving out will mean facing an uncertain housing market in the local area, where rental accommodation is difficult to come by and expensive.

However, the Government says there is “an urgent need” to provide accommodation for families with children who are fleeing conflict situations around the world and applying for International Protection in Ireland.

The current families, like anyone else granted Leave to Remain status following their own applications for International Protection, “are no longer entitled to IPAS-provided accommodation,” the Department of Integration said in a statement.

Officials met with the families last year and also in March of this year and told them that a transfer to “emergency accommodation” was under consideration.

“Those with status have the same housing entitlements as Irish citizens and are supported to register with a local authority and, if required, to avail of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to secure alternative accommodation,” the statement added.

“In addition, those with status have the same social welfare entitlements as Irish citizens.”

‘First place they’ve felt safe and welcome’

The local committee say the residents do not want to be depending on social welfare and, also, that there is a lack of alternative accommodation in the Borrisokane area.

“There’s no accommodation available within any area,” Margaret Donnelly of the liaison group said, “because a lot of the families have travelled even way further outside the area and they’ve not heard back or they’re being offered accommodation (for) €1,700 a month”.

“No working family can afford that. Again, social assistance – they don’t want social welfare. They want to work.

“Their jobs are here, their schools are here, their clubs are here. It’s the first place they’ve felt safe and welcome.

“If they move further on, they don’t know if they’re looking at protests again, if they’re going to be isolated, on their own, with no support network.”

One of those living in the Riverside apartments, with her parents, sister and brother, is Aila Ali Shahzad who has just completed the Leaving Cert, having spent five years at Borrisokane Community College.

Originally from Pakistan, she and her family came to Borrisokane via Mosney and Drogheda, after they came under threat in their own country.

She is now hoping to study law at university in Limerick and follow the college route taken by her older siblings.

“My and my sister’s and brother’s activities are in Borrisokane,” she said.

“I want them to continue to be in Borrisokane, I want to stay in Borrisokane. Because this place is really good, the people around here are so nice and really welcomed us,” she said.

“I was doing my Leaving Cert and suddenly my Dad told me that we got a page about moving out and I was like, I don’t think so about moving out right now because it took me five years to get adjusted to Borrisokane and I just want to stay here because my friends, my activities, everything is in Borrisokane.”

‘Borrisokane is like a dream’

Another resident is Galeema Davids, who had to leave South Africa with her family for safety reasons over five years ago and now lives in the Riverside complex with her four young children.

“Being in Borrisokane is like a dream,” she said. “It’s so safe, the community is so loving and so reassuring, and it’s just a safe place to be.”

It was three months ago when she got word about possibly having to leave.

“That just turned things upside down for us,” she recalled.

“We are worried about where we’re going to be… It’s a lot of anxiety and the kids are picking up on it, obviously. It’s difficult to keep myself together, with everything, and to be everything for the children.”

Her children are in the local primary school, with one due to start secondary school in September.

“I knew this was a safe place for the kids to grow up, and to thrive,” she said.

“I never wanted to leave Borrisokane, but because of the situation, we have been forced to look elsewhere and I have been looking elsewhere, I’ve been looking wherever I can, but we haven’t found anything.

“My priority was always to keep the kids in Borrisokane just for the real peace of mind and the safety and security.

“That’s plan A for us. That’s what we’d prefer, but we have been looking for somewhere else.”

According to Keith Donovan of the local liaison committee, moving the current residents out of the Riverside complex would breach their 2019 agreement and would also have a detrimental effect on those families.

“We have full, total integration. These people call Borrisokane their home, they call it Borris. This is their home. They came to our shores with fear of the unknown,” he said.

The committee want the Government to reconsider the IPAS move.

“I would appeal again for the Taoiseach to intervene here, for Helen McEntee and Roderic O’Gorman to see sense, and to ensure that our agreement stands. We are unique in our agreement, our agreement must and will have to stand.”