The residents of Ashbourne House are being told that they will all have to move to other direct provision centres, forcing them and their children to start their lives all over again. This is their petition.

If you would like to sign this petition in a professional capacity, as a government official, or on behalf of an organisation rather than as an individual, please use this link and your name / organisation will be added to the end: https://form.jotform.com/sethdavidlewis/officialsupport

 

Dear Minister Roderic O'Gorman, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the International Protection Accomodation Service,

 

We, the residents of Ashbourne House Direct Provision Centre, Glounthaune, County Cork, with the full support of the undersigned representatives and members of our community, are writing to you with grave concern regarding the sudden transfer of residents away from Ashbourne House. Letters have already been received by some residents giving them less than 48 hours notice to transfer to other centres. The International Protection Accomodation Service has stated that the move is due to a contractual change at Ashbourne House, meaning that it will no longer be a family centre, and that “all families are due to be transferred to another family location”.

We urge you to reverse this decision immediately and halt the transfer of residents from Ashbourne House to other locations.

Ashbourne House has been a family centre for the last 23 years. Significant investments have been made to ensure that Ashbourne House is specifically suitable for families, including an on- site créche, a playground, a shared garden, and more. As residents we have also become an integral part of our local community. Our children attend local schools, and many of us have jobs in the area or are taking training or degree courses at area institutions.

The transfer of residents from this place will not only disrupt our lives but also undermine the government's policy of prioritising the well-being of asylum seekers and providing for the best interests, development, and protection of children. If we are forced to move, it will be another dramatic setback for us and our children, who have already had far too many difficult moves and experiences in their young lives.

• Another move will mean that our children will be torn from their friends and classmates once again, most likely in the middle of a school year, after finally enjoying stability and security at Ashbourne House.
• It will mean that many of us will have to give up our jobs, by which we have sought to provide for ourselves and our families and contribute positively to our community and to Irish society.
• Some of us will lose the progress we have made in training and degree courses, setting us back in our ability to provide for our own futures and develop skills that will benefit everyone.

If we are transferred to other counties, we will also be forced to the back of the queue for housing and essential services such as speech therapies and support for our children with special needs. This will make it more difficult for us to move forward with our lives beyond the direct provision system, and harder for us to provide for the needs of our children. The physical and mental health and development of our children will be negatively affected by such a move, and our own mental health is already being affected by the uncertainty of our current situation. We do not know when or where we will have to go, or what it will mean for our families and futures.

Transferring us to other direct provision centres does not create more spaces in the direct provision system. It only hurts us and our families and makes it more likely for us to be forced to stay in the system longer, which benefits no one. This transfer will force us and our children to once again start over from scratch. We implore you to intervene and prevent this senseless and unwarranted disruption for us, our children, and our community.

We appeal to you to reverse this decision immediately and halt the transfer of residents from Ashbourne House to other locations.

Signed,

The Residents of Ashbourne House
Together with the undersigned representatives and members of our community.

 

Mick Barry, TD

Alan O'Connor, Cork County Councillor

Anthony Barry, Cork County Councillor

Little Island Community Association

Carrigtwohill Community Council

Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre

Maria Magee, Chairperson, Brij Connects

Brij encourage all seeking International Protection to link into services & to integrate in the community. The families now living in Ashbourne House have all been working hard to do this and deserve to be recognised for all the work they have put into settling their children into schools & themselves into jobs on the local area. We in Brij support them wholeheartedly & ask that they be allowed to remain where they are currently living as they strive to eventually become fully independent & valuable members of Irish society. 

Micheál Rea, Principal, Little Island NS

The children and families from Ashbourne House have been part of our school community for many years. They have added greatly to our school community and are integral to the whole school. The children have friendships and ties to this area that are essential to their overall development and growth. Any movement to, anything other than a permanent housing solution, would, in my opinion, be detrimental to their development. 

Sharon Hegarty, Teacher, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill

I am a teacher in Scoil Mhuire Naofa, primary school in Carrigtwohill. This directly effects one of our most loved pupils. A move would be hugely disruptive for him.

Aisling Ahern, Teacher, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill

As the teacher of one of the children who will be affected by this, I know how deeply distressing this will be for the child. He has made friendships and has access to the supports he needs here. We care deeply for this child and we know how this will negatively impact him. Please consider his future. 

Margaret Mulcahy, SNA, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill

I am an SNA of one of the children being affected with this move, and I think this will have a huge negative effect on him and set him back. He has alot of friendships made in this school and we all care for him deeply. This child has special needs and a change like this could dramatically effect him. This decision needs to be reversed.

Rory Duggan, Teacher, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill 

Please stop this transfer of families from Ashbourne House to save putting their lives and stability back a long way from where they have come to.

Meabh Smiddy, Teacher, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill

Carmel Quinless Special Needs Assistant, Scoil Mhuire Naofa, Carrigtwohill

Jack Casey, Community Action Tenants Union

Seth Lewis, Carrigtwohill Baptist Group