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ASYLUM SEEKERS, REFUGEES, and human rights supporters are among those gathering today to send a message to the government that the Direct Provision system needs to be overhauled.
They will gather at events around the country, in Dublin, Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Castlebar and Galway as part of a national day of action to end Direct Provision. The Irish Refugee Council is coordinating the day.
Dependent on the State
Sue Conlan, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, said that people in Direct Provision are “forced to be dependent on the State, year in year out, with no control over their lives and no opportunity to work or make significant decisions for themselves, let alone their children”.
She said that at the end of this, “they are deskilled and demotivated and then face an enormous challenge to integrate and become self-sufficient after so many years of dependency and social exclusion”.
It is difficult to understand why the authorities maintain this system when the evidence of the human, financial and social cost is clear.
This afternoon, two current residents and one former resident of Direct Provision will address a gathering outside Leinster House, before marching to the Department of Justice. Five children from Direct Provision centres across the country will present their personal messages to the Minister for Justice.
At the events in Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway and Castlebar, messages will also be sent to the Minister.
System
Former Supreme Court Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness commented:
As a society we cannot allow this system to continue. For years we have been learning about the abuses and harms inflicted on vulnerable people in Ireland’s past in unregulated, poorly monitored institutions where profit was valued over humanity. It is unspeakable that this is still happening today to a very vulnerable group of children, men and women.
Conlon told TheJournal.ie that the lead-up to this campaign began last September, when they published a report that questioned if Direct Provision conditions amount to child abuse.
Conlon said that she believes some people think Direct Provision has ‘gone away’ while others think there aren’t issues with it. She said there is a lack of information around DP and what it is really like, and that there could be an alternative to it.
The IRC advocates a model of reception that is based on support for asylum seekers during their initial months in Ireland, including medical assessments, social workers and legal providers. After six months, if people’s asylum applications aren’t processed, they could then move to self-catered accommodation and be given the right to work.
Conlon said this would give people some control over their lives, so whatever happens to them, they can adapt.
She said that she believes the issue is not on the government’s agenda, which is why the IRC is “forcing it onto the agenda”.
Conlon said that for the good of all people in Ireland, asylum seekers or not, the government “cannot afford to ignore this”.
The IRC held planning days with asylum seekers recently, which it hopes is the start of something new where they will get to work together and speak about about their situation.
The Council is calling on the Government to sign the EU directive on reception conditions, as Ireland is one of only two countries that has opted out of this. It is now the only EU country which does not permit asylum seekers to work after a designated period.
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Chris Evans more than twice as much as Graham Norton!? There’s more than sexism going on there!
@John Walker: You should bear in mind that that doesn’t include his talk show.
The BBC pay his Production Company which then pays him (or he pays himself…….. if you know what I mean).
I suspect that’s a damn GOOD salary over and above his actual BBC salary.
@John Walker:
Chris Evans is an irrepressible genius, he’s ginger, he’s original, creative, cutting edge, climbing the greasy pole of stardom trough sheer force of personality, money is not his goal, he’s already blown 80 million on cars and booze, when he began dating Billy Piper he bought her a silver Ferrari full of roses, she couldn’t even drive, Chris is car crash TV, when he gets bored he goes drinking and gets sacked then starts again, Chris personifies the idiom ‘You can’t keep a good man down’.
Compared to Chris Graham Norton is pure tedium.
@John Walker: being a good negotiator?
“The BBC’s highest paid woman is Claudia Winkleman”
Who? Exactly.
I 100% agree with equal work for equal pay. But you can’t compare salaries for people who have different levels of exposure, higher ratings, and different jobs on different shows. That’s not comparing like with like.
The only fair comparison here would be to compare 2 BBC news readers – since they actually have the same job on the same show & do the same amount of work.
@Conor Byrne: When you look at the likes of Chris Evans and Graham Norton who both had successful radio and TV shows last year when these contracts were paid. The large salaries they can command are based soley around their personalities rather than something like a large popular show like Come Dancing which, though popular, is not centered around any one personality.
For this reason the “stars” can command the big money and, rightly or wrongly, that’s just the way it is. Inevitably this will be compared to America where the “Stars” can command many times these salaries and women like Oprah and Judge Judy Sheindlin earn vast sums us mere mortals can only dream of. It’s not sexism, it’s just business, and the entertainment business is cut throat.
Jaysus, when Tubridy and Duffy and company hear about this there is bound to be a strike. They aren’t on anywhere near that cash
@Nick Allen: per head of listenership and population, the BBC presenters are on less than their RTE counterparts.
@Nick Allen:
Given the difference in population,shouldn’t Duffy,Untidy,etc be on a fifteenth of what Norton(a real presenter ) makes..around 60,000 seems fair..
@Dermot Lane: Yes – but there are dozens and dozens of stations, from regional to specialist.
@Nick Allen: the Tv licence isnt been used to pay the BBC crew tho, and there would be a slightly higher viewship for the BBC than RTE
@Fank Pulman: true but Evans gets 15 million on BBC
That’s F ing Scandalous!!!
Chris Evans £2million++ He should be pushed onto some obscure satellite tv channel somewhere not paid that much for nothing!
@Dub_Right: Evans entertains over twice the population of our country – everyday on BBC radio, as well as a good few here!!
@Dub_Right: i dont like him at all, he was a disaster on top gear but he has 15 million listeners !
@Dub_Right: Probably includes his Top Gear contract for the year in question.
@Fank Pulman: Evans has over 15 million listeners.
Claudia Winkleman earns almost half a million £££ per year – utterly mind boggling.
I see Graham’s agent negotiating a healthy pay rise at the next contract discussions
@Nick Allen: Doubt it, he get’s paid for his talk show via his Production company. His BBC salary would be for things like Eurovision etc.
Probably the best broadcasting organisation in the world. It won’t stop wingers here winging though.
How much is Bana of Aleppo on? The young girl ‘tweeting’ from Aleppo in Syria about the bad man Assad; a story pushed by the BBC and most other MSM? All the while her father was a local nusra man(terrorist) and her mother, an English teacher, put words in the little girls tweets and used her daughter as a propaganda tool against the Assad Government.
http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/07/18/uk-column-news-western-media-continue-to-cash-in-on-the-bana-of-aleppo-myth/
The BBC have always done lite entertainment well. Well done. However on the other side, they have been instrumental in the death and destruction of millions of people across the world in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, as lead propagandists for the industrial military complex of the UK and US and their allies.
I’m sorry but what does Chris Evans actually do for the BBC?
@Sorcha Hendry:
Brings in 15 million listeners to his radio show.
Actually, it’s just over 9 million, but I take your point.
@Tweety McTweeter: Good radio show it is too – I’m still listening to BBC Radio 2 all day at work (except for Jeremy Vine, podcasts fill that gap) since last Christmas – great music choice (with minimal repeats!), the lack of sports news and, especially, ads, means I would never go back to Irish commercial radio. The pay mentions today may be high in some cases, but is more than justified in most, especially when competing with attempted poaching by the commercial sector.
Got to love Linekar. King of the cheesy pun.
@methodical2020:
The BBC make some great programs for both TV and radio
Is nobody gonna mention Stephen Nolan being one of the highest paid in the UK 400-499,000 per year!?! You know Nolan, the fat guy on BBC NI that shouted at a politician via video link on that Miriam Callaghan show a while back…How is his wage justified?
@Meanderingsz: He broadcasts every week day on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio 5 Live from Thursday to Sunday and presents his own live TV show from Belfast!
Happily his weight doesn’t effect the excellent content of his shows.
Jaysus Ryan Turbidity is a bargain – sponsored by RTE
How can RTE keep our stars , when the BBC is paying ‘proper’ salaries ? Please dont send this article to Tubbs or Marian ….
That’s Racist
Chris Evans and Graham Norton worth every pound
Is it any wonder the toothy chap can buy Ferraris at 20 million a pop
The mind boggles
When will we see how much we pay our creaturs?? And when will they get reasonable rates?
The real question here is who the hell is Jermey Vine?
@Daniel Murray: BBC Radio 2 show between 12 and 2 weekdays. I listen to Radio 2 every day at work, but I skip his slot with podcasts – not my scene, but he’s obviously popular enough in the UK.
And linekar still feels the need to advertise crisps
Gary Lineker on £1.7 million? There are footballers who…. oh wait. Sorry.
Pity they couldn’t have a Transfer Market like in the Soccer Leagues,
Turgid Tubridy needs to go there to get paid commensurate to his talents…
@George Salter: Guess why all the “stars” are still at RTE… actually, RT stood in for Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show last year – not sure how it went, but I see that Alan Carr and Mel Sykes are doing it this year.
two fools to be honest……victims of ZIONIST extremism !!
How the hell can the BBC even employ that human disaster zone that is Victoria Derbyshire ? Every single human tragedy story is jumped upon and squeezed for every bit of drama and sensational aspect she can find….She,and her production team,are purveyors of human suffering and couldn’t give the tiniest of damns about the people in terrible situations that they cruelly exploit
Who cares . I for one haven’t heard of any of them in years . Let them off
to be honest what person in thier right mind give a f** about these two muppets ? seriously ? c’mon journal surely your better than this shiiiiiiiiite !!!
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