PUBLIC support strengthens our plight for Justice & repeal the Seal have supported SURVIVORS

It constitutes legal age discrimination and is contrary to the concept of equal pay for equal work.

The proposed scheme allows about 17,000 undocumented migrants to legally apply for residency in Ireland. It will only occur once and be available to them for a limited time. Applying for the scheme will cost €550 per person under the current proposal. This is a prohibitive amount for someone living in Ireland working for less than or minimum wage, particularly if they have been trafficked, abused or taken advantage of.

By the way Goverment went about redress they Covered some of the biggest human rights injustices and horrific child abuse. They quietened the voices of the very ones who need to be heard. We need church and state to accept the voices of All And Equality not just for some.

This is an opportunity to acknowledge the wrongs perpuated by our State and those to whom it sub-contracted its responsibilities.

I have lived in Ireland for 9 years and the immigration office has decided to deport me from this country. I have a nephew and niece and my brother here. I cant go back when I have spent almost one decade living here in Ireland. My brother has an Irish passport and two born Irish kids - please I'm asking for help, i have been in this community for 9 years.

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

As I am both a health care assistant and help my partner with her parents who need full time care, she only gets €109 a week which is shambolic for all she does and saves the country like all other carers who look after their children, parents, and young adults with disabilities, they need more support as medication, treatment and other outgoings are very expensive and it is unrealistic to expect these people to live on such a small allowance.

Direct Provision Centres are the accommodation provided to asylum seekers by the state (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). A feature of the majority of these centres is that food is only available at set times, a breakfast, lunch, and evening meal (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). This is highly problematic as the food is often inedible to the point that residents chose to skip the meal, meaning they are forced to go hungry (Barry, 2014). Similarly, any residents partaking in religious holidays such as Ramadan have no access to food at night when their fast is broken (Barry, 2014). Food is a human right, as is the availability and accessibility of it (OHCHR, 2021). By making healthy snacks constantly available to residents in Direct Provision Centres, many issues would be addressed in an easy and cost effective way. However, the emphasis is on healthy. Currently there are strict limits on access to fruit, and the food served is very high in salt, sugar, and fat (Barry, 2014). This cannot be the case for the accessible snacks as it would defeat the purpose. The White Paper was released in February and contains the government’s plan to abolish the Direct Provision system. While this is undoubtably a great step in the right direction, change is unlikely to occur before 2024 and these issues need to be addressed now. This petition is a call on Minister O’Gorman to enforce change in these centres immediately. The following links contain further, more detailed, information regarding the numerous nutritional issues faced by Asylum Seekers in Ireland: https://www.directprovision.org/copy-of-voices-in-dp https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf References: Barry, K. (2014) What’s Food Got To Do With It: Food Experiences of Asylum Seekers in Direct Provision. Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre. Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html OHCHR | OHCHR and the right to food (2021). Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/En/Issues/ESCR/Pages/food.aspx

Support to alleviate continuous sufferings of the Undocumented people

So that Children's referred appointments and elective surgeries do not turn into emergencies.