Mother and her children among dozens in Cork facing threat of homelessness 

A lone mother and her four children ranging in age from seven to 15, one of whom has a medical condition, are among dozens of people facing homelessness in Cork over the next 10 days.

Sandra (not her real name), who came to Ireland eight years ago seeking asylum when political violence forced her to flee her home in Nigeria, told The Echo she was “very scared” at the prospect of her children being homeless.

When Sandra and her three oldest children arrived in Ireland, they stayed in one of the county’s larger direct provision centres, before being moved a year later to a centre in a Cork town, where Sandra’s youngest child was born and the family has lived since.

Sandra’s children are all in school in the town, and are fully integrated into the community. One of the children has a significant medical condition which requires surgery.

Sandra was granted international protection status three years ago, meaning she has been granted leave to stay in Ireland.

Letters

In recent months, thousands of people living in direct provision who have been granted international protection status have received letters telling them they need to be gone from their accommodation by July 5.

The letters, from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability and Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), state: “We do not have the capacity to continue to accommodate persons once they have received status to remain in Ireland. Owing to the urgent need, we must now ask you to move to independent alternative accommodation in the community on Friday, July 5, 2024.”

The department said it is providing accommodation to “over 31,000 people, of whom 5,700 have been granted permission to remain in Ireland and, as such, are no longer in the international protection process”.

Sandra is one of several lone parents living with their families in direct provision who have received notice to quit from the department.

Depression

She said she suffers from depression and her mental health has suffered since she received the notice, adding: “Where am I supposed to go? Where are my children supposed to go? They tell us there is a housing crisis, but we already know this because we have nowhere else to go.

“My child needs surgery for a condition for two years, and I am going to college. We cannot move, even if there was somewhere we could go, all of my children’s lives, their friends, everything is here. I am very scared that my children will be homeless.”

Sandra said she had spoken with an official from International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) and she had found them extremely unhelpful.

She also spoke with someone in the housing section of Cork County Council, and while they had not been able to provide accommodation, she said they had been “very kind”.

Shocking

Karol Balfe, CEO of the charity ActionAid Ireland, said it was shocking for vulnerable people to receive such a letter, with no offer of alternative accommodation in the area.

“It is simply not acceptable to ask vulnerable women and children to be out of their accommodation. The threat of eviction and the looming deadline of July 5 is causing high levels of stress for the parents and their children. For years, the families have tried to integrate into their communities through their schools and local sports clubs, and they are heartbroken at the prospect of facing another move to an unknown place.”

An exemption to the July 5 deadline has been granted to people over the age of 65 and to those with significant medical or welfare needs.

“ActionAid Ireland is now calling on the minister of children, equality, disability, integration and youth to extend the exemption to parents and their children,” Ms Balfe said.

A spokesperson for the DCEDIY said that “where a person cannot secure independent accommodation by the defined date, IPAS will provide temporary, emergency accommodation”.