This exceptionally modern home in Co Meath is on the market for €595,000
This exceptionally modern home in Co Meath is on the market for €595,000

Sarah Finnan

The best Christmas markets in Ireland and abroad
The best Christmas markets in Ireland and abroad

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This 19th-century terrace house in Ennistymon was transformed for just €25,000
This 19th-century terrace house in Ennistymon was transformed for just €25,000

Lauren Heskin

Supper Club: Lucy Watson’s vegan pad Thai
Supper Club: Lucy Watson’s vegan pad Thai

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This dreamy Kildare period home is on the market for €1.35 million
This dreamy Kildare period home is on the market for €1.35 million

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James McGill: ‘I know now I have the strength and determination to overcome the most challenging of times’
James McGill: ‘I know now I have the strength and determination to overcome the most...

Lawson Mpame And Itchey Drew

Christmas jumpers you’ll want to wear year-round, not just for one night
Christmas jumpers you’ll want to wear year-round, not just for one night

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WIN a selection of Malfy Gin and two gin glasses
WIN a selection of Malfy Gin and two gin glasses

Megan Burns

This cosy Enniskerry home with incredible mountain views is on the market for €1.1 million
This cosy Enniskerry home with incredible mountain views is on the market for €1.1 million

Sarah Finnan

Inside this urban London home, where all the rooms open onto a quiet courtyard
Inside this urban London home, where all the rooms open onto a quiet courtyard

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The new government programme is committing to end Direct Provision


By Erin Lindsay
16th Jun 2020
The new government programme is committing to end Direct Provision

Abolition of the system was a key demand of the Green Party in government talks


Direct Provision will be ended within the next government’s lifetime, if the new draft proposal is passed by Oireachtas members.

The draft deal between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party sets out the abolition of Direct Provision, to be replaced by “a new international protection accommodation policy centred on a not for profit approach”.

The Direct Provision system was originally introduced as an interim system to provide accommodation to asylum seekers for six months while they awaited the results of their application process.

However, since it became a formal government policy in 2000, 64,594 people have passed through the Direct Provision system, with 600 people having been in DP for more than eight years and an average length of stay spanning 38 months.

The new government programme also agreed a number of short term measures for Direct Provision, including extra resources to help speed up the application process; reducing the time asylum seekers must be in the country to be eligible to work from nine months to six months; greater access to driver’s licenses for asylum seekers; and improved mental health services.

Other measures drafted in the justice area of the government programme include new hate crime legislation and a new national action plan on racism.

Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party held parliamentary meetings last night to gather party support for the new government proposals. The draft programme has to be accepted by parliamentary parties as well as their grassroots members across the country, who will be issued postal votes. The results of the parties’ votes will be announced on June 26.


Read more:‘Don’t feel guilty for being white – do something with it’ Dr Ebun Joseph speaks out

Read more: 6 things to know about direct provision

Read more: 10 great resources on social media to educate about race, privilege and Black Lives Matter