Protests have now halted plans for three direct provision centres nationwide, yet the Justice Minister denied responsibility for garda actions at the recent disruptions at Oughterard. Round-the-clock protests resulted in developer Sean Lyons withdrawing his tender to turn the former Connemara Gateway hotel into a direct provision centre this week. But despite the recent controversies, Minister Flanagan said that it 'was not the end' of direct provision centres, saying: "We need to provide accommodation to very vulnerable people. Minister Flanagan said he plans to "streamline services so that those whose applications have been dealt with are no longer in direct provision." “Of course they would leave direct provision in the morning if it was inhumane and if their dignity was lost," he said.

Source: Irish Examiner October 02, 2019 17:37 UTC