A Nigerian mother of three, who has been asked to leave her emergency accommodation in Dublin by this afternoon, says she has nowhere to go.
The woman, who is legally entitled to remain here and is employed, says she has been unable to find alternative accommodation, either from Dublin Corporation or in the private sector. She believes this is because she is black and has children. She said she had looked for places in Dublin, Dundalk, Navan and Portarlington.
The Northern Area Health Board, which placed the woman in emergency accommodation, said it has public accountability and cannot permit people who are earning to remain in such accommodation without paying rent or bills.
A spokeswoman confirmed the woman had been asked to leave by this afternoon and added she had been asked to leave on earlier occasions but was given more time to find alternative accommodation.
If the woman refused to leave today, the board would discuss the matter with Dublin Corporation to see what could be done, the spokeswoman added.
The board's policy stipulated that when the legal status of asylum-seekers changes and they succeed in finding employment, they are then expected, like all other employed persons, to move to alternative accommodation. "Temporary accommodation is in very high demand, especially for those who have just arrived in the country," she said.
The woman is on Dublin Corporation's housing list for homeless persons, but it is unlikely the corporation will be able to house her for months.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she is concerned she may lose her job as a result of publicity, lives in an apartment complex about two miles from the city centre.
Since she was placed, the woman said, she has made every effort to find alternative accommodation. "Everywhere I go, they say `We don't want blacks' or `We don't take children,'" she said. Her youngest child was born here. He is two. Her daughters are seven and six.
