Hiqa report shows non-compliance at two IPAS centres

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Inspectors found areas of an asylum seeker centre in Kerry to be unclean, littered with broken furniture, and unsafe for use by residents.
The most recent reports by the State's health regulator Hiqa, into the standards of accommodation for international protection seekers, formerly known as direct provision, show that two of the six centres inspected presented 'varying levels of compliance' in terms of acceptable standards.
The Atlantic Lodge centre in Kerry — run by Cork-based Cromey Limited, a company with multiple multi-million euro contracts to provide asylum seeker accommodation — was found by inspectors to be in need of a 'deep clean', in particular the kitchen facilities which were found to be dirty, with cutlery and cooking utensils left unwashed at the time of the unannounced inspection.
'In two bedrooms broken furniture and stained carpet were observed by inspectors,' the Hiqa report said.
It added that two of three cabins located to the rear of the centre had mould evident, with a 'distinct damp smell'.
'These spaces were not currently fit for purpose and required attention before they could be deemed safe or suitable for use by residents,' the report said, adding that the designated play area for children 'required maintenance in order to make it suitable, safe, and inviting for children to use'.
In 2023, Cromey Limited received the highest individual payment to any company for the provision of accommodation services for asylum seekers, worth €7.7m.
Millstreet Equestrian Services, whose parent company is Cromey, received €16m for the same services.
The Towers centre in Dublin, operated by Fazyard Limited, was found to have compromised the 'privacy and dignity' of some families living there by accommodating children aged older than 10 with siblings of a different gender or their parents, in breach of the requirements of the 1966 Housing Act. Some 11 families were identified as being accommodated in such a manner.
For instance, in one family unit, the room was divided by a wardrobe, with one side featuring a bunk bed and a single bed for three teenagers, while the other side contained a double bed for the parents.
There have been 12 international protection accommodation (IPAS) centres closed in the last seven months, more than three times the number that were closed in all of 2024.
The Towers and Fazyard were also noted in a previous Hiqa report into the standard of IPAS accommodation as having poor child safeguarding processes — after it was discovered that four children had absconded from the centre for more than two weeks while their parent was hospitalised, with staff having no idea of the childrens' whereabouts.
Fazyard, in addition to The Towers, operates a second centre at the Montague Hotel at Emo in Co Laois.
The four centres reviewed by Hiqa which displayed no non-compliances against standards were: Cuirt Uisce Accommodation Centre, Davis Lane Apartments, Glenvera Hotel, and Ocean View House.
There has been a recent rise in IPAS centre closures amid concerns about the quality of accommodation provided for asylum seekers and poor governance structures.
A total of 490 beds have been removed from the system due to the closures, which the department of justice said is due to issues of non-compliance with regulations or contractual breaches. The figures from the department are up to late July.