courses – New Horizon Athlone

Free Job Coaching

EPIC is a pre-employment programme for migrants based in Dublin. They are currently looking for potential participants nationwide who are asylum seekers and refugees for…

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-03

Student Support Scheme

Student Support Scheme for people in the International Protection System (asylum seekers) 2021 The Government has announced the Students Support Scheme for International Protection Applicants. …

Gerry Callaghan 2021-09-03

You could gain a leadership qualification

An Cosán in collaboration with Waterford Area Partnership and the Mukisa Programme is offering a Certificate course in Leadership and Community Development. . Here are…

Gerry Callaghan 2020-10-04

FAQ’s

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