Call for asylum seekers in Ireland to be given the right to work.
Mohammed Haji lost both his parents in bomb attack in Somalia. His wife is still in a refugee camp in Somalia. Mohammed is a qualified radiographer but he is not allowed to work in Ireland while his application for asylum is being considered. Like many African refugees, Mohammed is deeply frustrated by the system which does not allow him to work.
Most of the African refugees are not used to the social welfare system and they see this to be degrading.
There are almost six thousand asylum seekers in Ireland which costs the exchequer around £53 million in social welfare payments and housing benefits annually. Many of these people have skills which are needed in the Irish economy but are not permitted to put their skills to use.
Representatives from the trade unions, churches, political parties and voluntary groups have joined forces to form the Asylum Rights Alliance. They are calling on the government to give asylum seekers the right to work and study after six months.
Patricia O'Donovan of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) explains that asylum seekers want to create a better life for themselves and their families.
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) says that refugees and the unemployed should not be seen as being in competition with one another for jobs.
The right to work, it said, is a basic human right.
Mohammed says that instead of calling people scroungers and spongers, give them the right to work and then they can contribute to society.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 July 1998. The reporter is Margaret Ward.
