The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) has called for a comprehensive response to the needs of homeless international protection applicants.
The Department of Integration stopped offering accommodation to male asylum seekers a year ago due to a “nationwide shortage”.
There were over 2,900 asylum seekers awaiting an offer of accommodation as of last Friday.
The IRC has said the Department of the Taoiseach should address accommodation and support needs, which are currently being managed by community volunteers.
It has also called for the development of more practical and efficient systems like a 24-hour drop-in centre, to replace reliance on outreach workers meeting applicants at tents.
In August, a high court judgment found that in failing to provide accommodation for international protection applicants, the State had breached their human right to dignity.
Last week, the State lodged an appeal.
When the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission began its case in December 2023, there were 259 international protection applicants unaccommodated.
By the time the case was heard in May, that number had risen to 1,715. It is now 2,914.
A report published by the IRC this morning includes insights from 49 volunteers who conducted an online survey into the dangers they face supporting protection applicants on Dublin’s streets.
A number of the women volunteers said they were regularly subjected to harassment, stalking, abuse, and violence from anti migrant and far right groups.
One volunteer had been punched in the face while another received threats to have their throat slit.
The IRC has said far-right agitators claim to be safeguarding women from protection applicants.
“However, female volunteers report their safety is most often threatened by individuals who are harassing and intimidating the applicants they are assisting,” it said.
The report also highlights the critical role played by members of the public and the “unsustainable and harmful nature” of the state’s response to the homelessness crisis among protection applicants.
This approach has subjected applicants and local communities to abuse and violence, particularly by far-right groups according to the report.
Volunteers reported that An Garda Síochána lacked the training and knowledge to respond effectively, which often exacerbating risks to safety.
It also highlights a contradiction in the State’s approach to homeless asylum seekers by providing tents and sleeping bags to applicants, only for other state agencies to confiscate or destroy them shortly afterward.
