‘Mould, fire risks’ found in asylum seeker hubs
HINGES from fire doors had been removed in apartments that were being used to house asylum seekers in direct provision, according to an inspection report.
Smoke alarms were also missing from one room in two apartments, while a hallway was cluttered with bikes and prams which obstructed access to a fire extinguisher and stairway.
A fire door on another floor of the direct provision centre had been wedged open and was badly damaged at the bottom where wood had rotted away.
The details were contained in a report from one of more than two dozen inspections carried out by Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s Department of Children and Equality in the final four months of last year.
The inspections had resumed after an almost sixmonth gap due to Covid-19 restrictions and uncovered a range of issues at centres around the country.
A report on one centre found two apartments in a “poor” state of cleanliness with one requiring repainting of all areas.
In one room, a large TV was propped up on a table but not secured to a wall and “posed a risk of falling on the young child” living there.
At another accommodation centre, fire hazards were identified in some areas with a dresser blocking a door in one room.
Another room was described as “very untidy”, with a hole in the floor; another was “very messy and cluttered”, with a chair blocking a door, creating a fire hazard.
The inspection also found one room with mould around the window and ceiling, while another had a broken smoke alarm.
In another area of the complex, a wardrobe on a corridor needed to be moved because it was blocking a passageway while a large toy car was also causing an obstruction in a hallway.
There was mould in the ceiling of en-suite bathrooms in three rooms while in another room residents were using a small cooker, which management were asked to have removed.
In another centre, inspectors could not get into one room because the resident appeared to have “locked himself in”.
Another room had a broken bedside locker, with a pool cue used to keep a window open.
The vent outside another room had been covered with a hoodie, which management committed to remove and keep a watch for.
Latches on windows in another location were broken, while handles were missing from windows in an adjoining room. “Slight signs of dampness in the shower,” added the report.
Another room was found to need a window latch repaired and a hole in the wall refilled; it also had two extension leads plugged into each other.
There were signs of damp in the shower of another room that was described as “untidy” and needing rubbish removed. It also had a two-ring cooker inside.
Another room was described as: “No ventilation, shower smells. Rail in wardrobe broken. Issue with bugs in room (management stated they would call pest control at the time of inspection).”
Multiple other inspections reported problems in accommodation, most commonly relating to the covering of smoke alarms and the use of cookers in rooms.
In a statement, the Department of Children — which has taken over responsibility for direct provision — said they aimed to carry out three unannounced inspections for each centre every year.
The department said inspectors were encouraged to record potential issues which were rectified by either the contractor or in some cases by residents.
They said continued non-performance or failure to address serious issues could result in a termination of the contract with the service provider.