The Irish Refugee Council has rejected a proposal to introduce "flotels" to house asylum-seekers. It described the idea as "ill thought-out and a reactive response to the housing crisis".
It said the Minister for Justice, Equality, and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, "should re-examine all land-based options before attempting to house asylum-seekers in floating hotels." The proposal, if implemented, would "alienate and isolate asylum-seekers and should not and need not be considered at this point".
Dublin city Sinn Fein councillor Mr Larry O'Toole described the proposed floating hotels as "glorified prison ships, nothing more than floating ghettos."
The proposal was "the latest in a long line of degrading ideas from Justice Minister John O'Donoghue," he said, and refer red to the Minister's suggestions that asylum-seekers should be fingerprinted and allocated food vouchers instead of social welfare benefit, as examples.
"Mr O'Donoghue wouldn't expect his constituents to live on a prison ship, so why should people seeking asylum in this country be expected to?" Mr O'Toole asked. The Government's "continued backward approach to the asylum issue has done nothing but add to the atmosphere of racism that has grown from the mishandling of the issue from day one." What was required was "an end to deportations and a general amnesty" for these currently in the State, "the full implementation of the refugee Act, the right to work and equal access to education for asylum applicants and a tougher Government stance against racism and discrimination," he said.
A spokesman for the Minister said the flotels proposal was one of two accommodation options being considered for asylum-seekers. Department officials had already inspected such ships in the Netherlands, he said.
