Asylum-seekers from the 10 EU accession states currently living in State-run centres have been told to leave their accommodation by May 1st. Many of the approximately 1,000 asylum-seekers will face homelessness due to new rules introduced by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, last month, writes Kitty Holland.
The rules require people to have been living in the State for two years before they can claim social welfare payments.
Asylum-seekers from accession countries will gain the right to work in May. However, most have no savings, and face difficulty finding the money to put down a deposit when renting a home. Currently all asylum-seekers are accommodated in centres around the State, with bed and board provided along with a weekly allowance of €19 per adult.
About 300 letters, affecting around 1,000 individuals, have been sent to the asylum-seekers by the Reception and Integration Centre pointing out their country of origin will become a full member of the European Union on May 1st.
"From that date you will have, inter alia, full access to the Irish labour market and be permitted to seek work in Ireland under the terms of those treaties," they are told. "Furthermore, you will no longer be entitled to occupy accommodation provided by the Reception and Integration Agency after that date. Therefore you must vacate your current accommodation as soon as possible, at the very latest by May 1st, and arrange your own accommodation."
A Social Welfare spokeswoman told The Irish Times: "We are very anxious to sort this out." She did point out however that if these asylum-seekers declared themselves homeless after May 1st they would be entitled to emergency rent allowance.
But they will not be entitled to unemployment assistance, old-age pension, the one-parent family payment, carer's allowance, disability allowance or child benefit, if they do not satisfy the "habitual residence" requirement.
The letter, received by asylum- seekers last Friday, advises them to contact their local community welfare officers. The welfare officers have yet to be briefed on how to deal with them.
The Department of Justice says the entitlements of these people are a matter for the Department of Social and Family Affairs after May 1st, although a justice spokesman later added: "No one will find themselves on the streets."
The Department of Social and Family Affairs, which only heard of this situation last week, is seeking a meeting with the Department of Justice to clarify the issues before briefing community welfare officers. Meanwhile, the union SIPTU says it has had reports of employers dismissing employees from non-EU countries here on work permits, and recruiting replacements from accession states who will not need work permits.