Palestinian mothers of seriously ill children refuse relocation to Donegal

Irish Times

7 days ago

The mothers of eight seriously ill
Palestinian
children have said they will not leave their Dublin accommodation on Tuesday when they are scheduled to be transferred to new housing in Co Donegal.
The
Irish Red Cross
(IRC) had arranged for six families to be moved from private residential housing in South Dublin, where they have lived since arriving in Ireland in December, to an apartment complex in
Letterkenny
.
It said the Dublin accommodation will be unavailable from September and is keen to relocate the Palestinian families before the new school year begins. Consultation with the families regarding this move began last March.
However, the women are concerned for their children who were medically evacuated to Ireland. They fear they will not receive adequate healthcare in Letterkenny and say there was no clear consultation. They have called for the relocation to be postponed until alternative accommodation can found within a two-hour commute of Dublin.
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The mothers, their sick children and 11 younger siblings arrived in December 2024 as part of the State's commitment to evacuate up to 30 ill children from
Gaza
via Egypt. A second group of paediatric patients arrived in May. The arrival of the third group of up to 18 children has been stalled amid
concerns over visas
for their siblings.
The mothers learned of their transfer in a letter dated July 29th from the IRC, which is contracted by the Department of Health to support the families.
The letter, seen by The Irish Times, noted all the children's medical needs had been transferred to Letterkenny University Hospital.
'Our medical appointments were moved without asking,' the mothers said in a statement. 'We are being told to leave on a specific date, by a specific bus, or we risk losing access to basic services. This feels painfully familiar. This feels like Gaza again.'
Being told to relocate 'with one week's notice feels like an eviction, a forced relocation and is very traumatic considering what happened to us in Gaza'.
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'After eight months of fragile stability in Dublin – months of healing, hospital appointments, and starting over – we have been ordered to move.'
This 'forced relocation will only deepen our children's psychological pain', they said.
A statement from the IRC said the medical team at
Children's Health Ireland
had determined, following careful medical assessment, that the six families were in a 'stable medical situation' and could safely transfer their care to a regional health centre 'in line with the Gaza medevac medical treatment plan'.
The families of children who require ongoing specialist treatment will remain in Dublin, it said.
Volunteers working with the women have recommended they be moved to a housing unit in Kilkenny which has been assessed by the IRC. It is understood, however, that housing is not available until October.
'We are single mothers without the support of husbands or extended family, which makes moving to a distant location for more difficult and distressing,' the mothers said.
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A separate letter sent to TDs and local councillors by volunteers working with the women said building a local South Dublin support network since the group's arrival had required 'energy, resources and trust building'.
'These families are dealing with prolonged grief, ongoing trauma, anxiety and depression having lost children, spouses and extended violence in Gaza,' the volunteers wrote. 'The evacuees' psychological security has been greatly impacted upon hearing of another forced relocation.'
Those transferring to Letterkenny will have 'full access to appropriate local medical and mental health services' and the IRC will arrange private transport for any specialist appointments in Dublin, according to the statement.
The families will move into own-door accommodation on a secure campus where they can 'stay together, feel part of a community, and have easy access to essential services', it said.
The IRC has engaged with the local Letterkenny integration team, community groups, schools and creche providers and Arabic-speaking caseworkers will provide 'dedicated, wraparound support'.