Government to provide 350 additional beds for asylum seekers

The news comes off the back of protests in Clare which saw asylum seekers flee their State-provided accommodation.

Minister for Justice Simon Harris has confirmed that up to 350 beds for asylum seekers are to come on stream this week. The past week has seen the issue of safe accommodation for asylum seekers rise to the front of the public consciousness, following an arson attack on a migrant encampment in Dublin's south inner city and the blockading of County Clare refugee housing. The government has faced criticism over its "chaotic" response to the situation, with incidents involving the safety of asylum seekers routinely occurring. [caption id="attachment_774187" align="alignnone" width="640"] Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns criticised the government's response to issues around housing asylum seekers. (Credit: Rolling News)[/caption] Speaking in the Dáil today, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns raised concerns over the governments ability to communicate with local residents across the country, sighting the fact that the manager of the County Clare accommodation knew for three months that asylum seekers would be arriving, but "nobody else was told". "Not even the Clare Immigrant Support Centre who have been providing outreach services for refugees for more than 30 years was told", Ms. Cairns said. The Cork politician went on to add that the coalition government is presiding over "an increasingly chaotic response to the crisis", and that the scenes which saw tents and belongings destroyed in a fire in Dublin last Friday were "shameful and violent". Responding to Ms. Cairns' claims that the government had "no strategy to engage with communities housing refugees", Minister for Justice Simon Harris said that the coalition is working "on an hourly basis" to come up with a solution. [caption id="attachment_774188" align="alignnone" width="640"] Minister Simon Harris confirmed 350 additional beds would be provided fro asylum seekers this week. (Credit: Rolling News)[/caption] Confirming that 350 beds will be added to the system for housing asylum seekers this week, Mr. Harris stated that government would also provide financial assistance to communities that house refugees thanks to the establishment of a new €50 million fund. The Fine Gael politician added that every department and person involved within government was contributing to the effort to alleviate such issues regarding housing for asylum seekers. "We are making real progress but we've got to be honest with people, there isn't one singular thing we can do and this requires hourly work across government and that is in place". Related Articles:

• Clare community criticised after protests see asylum seekers leave
• New hate speech legislation draws global criticism for heavy-handedness
• On the ground in Palestine: Living under an Apartheid regime
• Russia attacks Ukrainian Eurovision act’s city moments before performance