SOME 250 RESIDENTS at the Mosney International Protection Service Centre in Co Meath were issued with notices to leave the premises as they had been granted refugee or a similar protection status in May.

According to an inspection report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) from May, some of these residents expressed anxiety over the notices as they feared they would not find suitable accommodation elsewhere before July, when their notice was up.

HIQA’s report detailed that approximately 80% of the 875 residents at Mosney, which has housed a large number of people seeking International Protection in Ireland for over 20 years, had already been granted protection but were unable to find housing.

Inspectors found the Mosney site to be in a good condition and described the campus as “well-maintained”. Their report adds that staff and management were compliant with all of their responsibilities. 

Good access to health services, such as doctors and dentists, were also noted as well as access to education with on-site classrooms, outdoor play areas and sports facilities. The report notes that there was evidence of increased investment at the site.

Residents at the site, which inspectors noted had been living “ordinary family routines”, told the report that they were happy and comfortable. Many also said they felt safe living at the Meath site.

The details of the state of the direct provision site, where over 800 people seeking international protection were being housed, are in the latest batch of reports released by HIQA inspectors who had visited seven IPAS sites in May of this year.

Garda vetting

Across the seven sites visited by the inspectors, most centres were found to be largely compliant with the regulations and guidelines for operating a safe and proper accommodation site.

St Patrick’s Centre, in Co Westmeath was found to be not compliant with three requirements.

The centre had not appointed a Reception Officer to the site, who supports those with special reception needs, and none of the staff at the site, where 354 residents were staying, were able to identify any special reception needs of residents either.

Additionally, four staff members had not had their garda vetting checks updated and management had not completed international police checks for two staff members. 

Similarly, no staff member who lived abroad for six months or more at the Temple Accommodation Centre in Co Westmeath had an international police check carried out on them by management. 

Inspectors noted, however, that the site was well-maintained and some of the 88 residents had told them they felt safe and supported by staff at the centre.

A site in Basin Lodge, Co Dublin, were found to be not compliant when none of their staff were able to independently identify if any of the 20 people living at the site had special reception needs. The rest of the site was largely compliant.

Other inspection reports at two sites in Co Galway and one in Co Mayo noted that people, who had been residing there in May, told HIQA’s inspectors that they were happy and felt that services were of good quality at the sites.

Issues at the final three sites included to procedural snags between staff and management such as supervision, independent audits and monitoring and making sure the centre was managed properly when the site manager had left for long periods of time.