Tag Archives: Entitlements

CX-h0LEWEAAZjEr

A press release published by the Department of Social Protection last night and a tweet by the Irish Refugee Council

Last night the Department of Social Protection officially announced – and published a press release – that the weekly allowance for children seeking asylum is to be raised by €6 from €9.60 to €15.60.

This has already been reported.

However, in addition to the increase benefitting young asylees – who are in the process of seeking refugee protection – the department also said that the increase will also benefit “those coming to Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme and the UNHCR-led Resettlement Programme.”

It’s understood that the people who are being relocated to Ireland under this programme – such as the group of Syrians who were brought to Clonea Strand Hotel near Dungarvan before Christmas –  have been predetermined as refugees by the UNHCR.

And once a person is recognised as a refugee in Ireland, they are entitled to apply for social welfare payments on the same basis as an Irish citizen.

Anyone?

Government announces increase to the direct provision allowance for children (Welfare.ie)

Previously: Institutionalised

A Wintry Welcome

The Institutionalisation Of 1,818 Children

Thanks Subpri.me

UPDATE:

In response to the increase…

Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance and member of the Working Group on the Protection Process, says: “As a member of the Working Group, I was deeply upset to witness first-hand the poverty that children in direct provision must endure. This increase – which will barely cover the cost of a bottle of Calpol – can only be seen as a gesture of goodwill. Our welcome is given with a strict proviso that the full increase to their payment be secured in the short-term.”

June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy at Barnardos, says, “While any increase is a move in the right direction, it is difficult to see the justification for such a paltry increase – less than a third of what the working group recommended and still far short of what they need. The direct provision system is no place for children and this increase will do precious little to change that. It must be abolished.”

Grainia Long, CEO of ISPCC, says, “ISPCC staff have worked with families in Direct Provision and seen the hardship caused by the inadequate level of financial support. We’ve heard from mothers trying to save an extra egg to bake a birthday cake for a child, and from children who have never known anything other than basic conditions in institutional settings. The modest increase from ministers is welcome, but it falls short of what children need, and will ultimately mean that children in Direct Provision remain woefully unsupported by the Irish state in 2016.”