THE RECEPTION and Integration Agency (RIA) has said it will review the transfer orders for asylum seekers in Mosney with a valid medical reason not to leave.
However, it has insisted the majority of the 111 people ordered to move to alternative accommodation will have to go, and its new contract with Mosney will not be revisited.
The RIA – an agency within the Department of Justice that houses asylum seekers – told the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) yesterday the transfers would go ahead.
Sue Conlon, chief executive of the refugee council, met the head of the RIA, Noel Dowling, yesterday on behalf of the residents at Mosney, who have protested for five days about being moved from the former Butlins holiday camp.
“I’m disappointed that there is no room for manoeuvre because the transfers are causing so much distress to residents,” she said.
However, she said the RIA had told her that it would review valid requests by residents who did not want to move for medical reasons.
Last week the RIA sent letters to 111 residents telling them they had only a few days to pack their things and move to new hostels, primarily Hatch Hall in Dublin.
The lack of consultation with residents and the short timeframe given for the move enraged residents, many of who have lived in Mosney for up to five years.
The RIA has said it will not forcibly remove residents from Mosney. However, it can stop their weekly payment of €19.10 a week.
Immigration Control Platform spokeswoman Áine Ní Chonaill criticised the asylum seekers’ protest in Mosney. “They are holding up placards saying Ireland is their home but it most certainly isn’t their home. It is up to us to determine if it is their home.”