Bullying, drug dealing, and attack with a knife among complaints made by residents of accommodation for asylum seekers

Residents of direct provision complained of being attacked with a knife, a manager entering their room without notice, and a roommate who was selling drugs.

The International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) said they had received 109 complaints in the first eight months of this year including the theft of personal belongings and being blocked from speaking with a doctor.

A log of complaints from the summer reveals how one person complained that their child’s father was not being allowed to visit his daughter at a centre in Dublin.

In the Midlands, one resident said they did not feel safe in their accommodation and that the “manager is entering his room”.

Another case at the same centre saw a person claim to have been “attacked with a knife” and unhappiness with how centre management dealt with the incident.

In Co Clare, a complaint was logged about a roommate who was “aggressive [and] selling drugs” with the person asking if they could be moved away from them.