Asylum seekers living in tented accommodation at a Co Clare International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) Centre, told HIQA during a recent inspection that they felt "unsafe and uncomfortable" in their accommodation.
Conditions of the tented accommodation at Knockalisheen is highlighted in one of nine IPAS inspection reports that have been published by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
Knockalisheen is run by Aramark has capacity for 354 residents, which has increased from 250, due to the provision of 104 additional beds in tented accommodation.
While conditions for residents living in the tented area had "improved slightly" since a previous inspection last year, the report states that "cramped, undignified living spaces with limited storage and no privacy available for residents", continued to exist.
This inspection found that there were multiple incidents of physical, verbal abuse and aggression at the centre which had not been appropriately managed, risk assessed or reported in line with national policy.
In addition, in many cases, these incidents had not been notified to HIQA as required by the regulations.
Similar to previous inspections, some residents said they felt unsafe due to the nature of the incidents that had taken place.
Some staff members told the inspectors that they did not report all incidents of verbal abuse and aggression, and they stated they were not equipped to manage the conflict within the centre as they did not have the required training.
Following the inspection, HIQA issued an urgent compliance plan seeking assurances from Aramark that a comprehensive review of incidents with appropriate actions took place.
Aramark has implemented an Incident Management Policy and Procedure, to ensure all adverse events, incidents, or potential incidents, are identified, documented, rectified, reviewed, and appropriately communicated.
Training has been provided to all management on the steps involved in reporting incidents to the relevant government bodies. It also confirmed that additional Training for Conflict Management/Management of Violence and Aggression was underway.
The report notes that safeguarding arrangements for children at the centre had improved.
Parents took a "proactive approach" to safeguard their children and opportunities for both children and parents to engage with staff members to disclose their concerns had increased.
Described as "a positive step", HIQA said it was evident that staff were aware of their responsibilities to report child protection and welfare concerns to Tusla.
HIQA assumed responsibility for monitoring the quality of permanent IPAS centres provided by the Department of Integration last January.
At the time of the inspection there were 289 residents living in the Knockalisheen centre, 38 of which were children and 90 were living in 13 military style tents and a large proportion of the adult residents were single males.
While some measures were put in place to improve the living conditions for the tented residents - including the provision of storage facilities and additional bed linen, access to drinking water and headboards for the beds - ongoing health and safety risks remained.
These included, cramped, unclean and cluttered living spaces, overloaded electrical sockets and uncomfortable temperatures within the tents.
Staff team had increased their availability to the residents living in the tents and security personnel increased their presence in the area, but HIQA said this had not "enhanced the feeling of safety" amongst the group.
Their feelings of being unsafe and uncomfortable in the tented area was "a direct impact of the poor living environment and the lack of an adequate management response to the ongoing incidents and safeguarding concerns", according to the report.
Aramark has implemented an Incident Management Policy and Procedure, to ensure all adverse events, incidents, or potential incidents, which occur in the service are identified, documented, rectified, reviewed, and appropriately communicated.
The majority of the remaining inspection reports relating to centres located in Waterford, Laois, Donegal, Limerick, Kerry and Cork showed varying levels of compliance.
Inspectors found examples of good practice, such as supporting people to integrate into local communities, promoting human rights, providing facilities for cooking and preparing meals and good child-centred practice, including access to well-equipped play groups and spaces for study and homework.
Where non-compliance with the national standards was identified, providers were required to submit compliance plans to demonstrate how they will make improvements and come into compliance with the national standards.
