Public Rally: No to Racism - No to Direct Provision

Refugees Welcome - Build Public Housing

**We're assembling in Eyre Square and meeting the residents of the Great Western Direct Provision centre. We'll be marching to the Spanish Arch for speeches and then onto the Eglinton Direct Provision centre in Salthill .

Almost 20 years as a "temporary" measure, Direct Provision is a cruel and inhumane asylum system that warehouses asylum seekers outside of communities, denying them basic rights and forcing them to live off less than €30 a week.

People with residency are stuck in centres because of the inefficiency of the system and a worsening housing crisis. Many asylum seekers who recently arrived are living in hostels and B&Bs as all of the DP centres are full.

These centres are mostly privately run where the owners turn over a huge profit with contracts from the Government. The secretive tendering process to find new centres is focused on mostly rural towns where absolutely no consultation is carried out, and no acknowledgement of the lack of basic resources that many of these towns' experience.

The vacuum created by this lack of consultation has recently been preyed upon by anti-immigrant organisations, as the government stands back while communities unnecessarily compete for basic needs. Dog-whistle politicians, greedy hoteliers and an anti-Irish far right seek to make gains from the misery of asylum seekers and the frustrations of rural Ireland.

No more temporary measures. It's time we put an end to this horrible form of institutional living. We need to take a stand against a growing racist threat that is trying to infiltrate our beautiful rural towns. We need to stand with those seeking asylum in this country and call for an end to DP. We call for a policy of building public housing so new arrivals can live within communities instead of being forced outside.

We strongly encourage all communities affected by this issue across the island to attend.