THE DEPARTMENT OF Integration has launched an investigation after letters were issued to a number of families warning that food and housing may be “reduced or withdrawn” in Dundrum House in Co Tipperary.
It said it was concerned by the wording of the warning as it “falls short of the standard” for communicating with residents and added that it needed to “verify” the letters.
Letters were given to people seeking international protection, arising from a standoff over the proposed transfer of several families from apartments on the 220-acre grounds of the former hotel to its main building.
Some families have refused to move due to anger over how the hotel has been managed since their arrival earlier this month – they also cited concerns that the new accommodation might be in poorer condition than what they already have.
The letters, purporting to be from International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas), cited EU regulations allowing Minister Roderic O’Gorman to withdraw “material reception conditions” because of families’ objections to requests to be moved.
It is understood this warning was communicated to residents this week, featuring in three-page-long letters on Department of Integration headed paper, accusing them of a “serious breach” of ‘house rules’ by refusing to move to different accommodation on the site.
The letters claimed that residents were reported to Ipas by local management.
However, the Department of Integration said it was investigating the letters to “verify the communication” to residents.
In a statement to The Journal last night, the Department said it cannot comment on the transfer of individuals within international protection accommodation.
However, it said the threatening language “does not reflect standard language used either by IPAS or by centre management contracted to IPAS” when issuing communications to residents.
A spokesperson added:
Ipas is investigating the matter at present to verify the communication, which falls short of the standard expected in communications with residents.
Earlier, there was were urgings from aid groups for the centre to engage in negotiations with the families, all of whom are women and their children.
Some of the women told The Journal this week how they are fearful that the site could be attacked amid the ongoing hostility from protesters.
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (Masi) said the letters – no matter who they came from – risk straining relations between the centre and new residents.
The group said it was outraged by how new arrivals have been treated since they were brought “without prior notice” to Dundrum earlier this month.
It said that the letters were “arrogantly” presented to residents without “understanding the welfare of the people and their state of mind” since they were transferred to west Tipperary.
Approximately 70 people applying for international protection were transferred to Dundrum House, which has become the focal point of protests by locals throughout the summer.
A number of families have been left distressed by the move to Dundrum, with some leaving behind jobs and communities in Dublin, particularly as they have faced hostility from some locals in Tipperary.
“They feel they are being treated like animals that you can ship from one place to another place and when they ask questions, they are getting warning letters,” Masi co-ordinator and the group’s co-founder Lucky Khambule told The Journal.
He said the women and children who have been housed in Dundrum are people who have “suffered traumatic experiences already” and warned that further confrontations were akin to adding “fuel to a fire”.
Khambule said Ipas and local management needed to “strike the balance now” with residents and engage in talks without issuing “emotionally punitive” warning letters against people who have already experienced significant stress, due to the discrimination they met when they landed in Tipperary.
Women who spoke to The Journal after their arrival said they found their rooms needed to be cleaned, with little staff and security on the site.
The Department has conceded it has faced major staffing issues at Dundrum House with few staff having the required garda vetting qualifications. Some Ipas staff have been placed on the site in the interim.
However, the staffing and security issues have eroded the confidence of residents and aid groups in Ipas’s management of the centre.
In its statement to The Journal the department said that the safety and wellbeing of all people seeking international protection is of paramount importance to the minister and his department.
A spokesperson added that an Ipas “customer service clinic was held last week where “all queries and concerns raised were addressed” with residents and accommodation centre management.
“Ipas will continue to engage with the management and residents of Dundrum House over the coming weeks,” the statement said.
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