Irish Government – New Horizon Athlone

Study support for DP students improving

Government changes to the rules for third-level support for asylum-seekers mean five times as many applications have succeeded. In 2019 only five students qualified for…

admin 2020-11-23

Direct provision ‘should end by 2023’

The direct provision system should be phased out, starting in less than three years, according to a new report for the Irish government. A three-tier…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-10-22

IMPORTANT NOTICE: COVID-19 restrictions from October 22

Update from the IPO: All substantive protection interviews are cancelled from Thursday 22 October 2020 until further notice. “Please find below a copy of…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-10-21

Taking the ‘meanness’ out of Direct Provison

Roderic O’Gorman, the Minister for Children, Disabilities, Equality and Integration, promises to sort out the State’s direct provision system. The Green Party TD is not…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-07-17

Responsibility for Direct Provision to transfer

Responsibility for the Direct Provision system, which will be abolished by the end of the Government’s term, is to transfer to the Department of Children, The Irish Times reports. The Green…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-06-30

David and Fortunate face deportation

Key community couple refused refugee status AIT Students and community volunteers facing deportation after four years in Direct Provision David and Fortunate Nesengani suffered persecution in…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-03-10

Achievement awards open to everyone under 25

Above, President Michael D. Higgins presenting Bronze Gaisce awards to young people at the Mosney Direct Provision site in Co Meath. Gaisce – The President’s…

Gerry Callaghan 2017-12-21

We are a front line refugee support group mainly working on the Lissywollen Direct Provision site in Athlone. Our focus is on providing information and help to the 300 (on average) residents living there.

We also work on the Temple Direct Provision site in Horseleap, Moate.

Everyone in the DP sites in Athlone and Temple is what is described as a ‘Convention’ refugee. People who have arrived in Ireland under a United Nations resettlement program are known as ‘Programme’ refugees.

Convention refugees are people who have made their own way to Ireland and have applied for recognition of refugee status when they arrive.

Various official and unofficial routes and methods are used to travel to Ireland. These change continually, depending on weather conditions and enforcement levels at crossings.

On arrival people are normally housed for a few weeks in Baleskin, near Dublin airport. They are then dispersed to various direct provision centres around the country.

People can get protection if they meet the conditions set out in The United Nations Convention on Protection of Refugees.

See Definition of a Refugee