Solidarity with Destitute Migrants

Fairer application of habitual residency policy would reduce risk of migrants becoming destitute, says Jesuit Refugee Service on International Day of Solidarity with Migrants

Today (18 December 2010), International Day of Solidarity with Migrants, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Ireland calls for greater solidarity with migrants at risk of destitution on the streets of Irish cities and towns. The plight of Irish emigrants who are experiencing similar difficulties in other countries throughout the world should not be forgotten.

At the heart of Irish policy is the requirement for migrants to be ‘habitually resident’ continuously for two years before they can access social welfare payments. JRS is calling for this policy to be relaxed in the cases where migrants are homeless or destitute.

Eugene Quinn, Director of JRS Ireland, following the launch of a special issue of Working Notes, journal of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, said ‘Employment statistics for the last year highlight that non-Irish nationals have experienced the highest rates of unemployment. An increasing number of migrants having lost their sole means of income are at risk of poverty and homelessness. For a variety of complex and personal reasons many migrants will not return home even in the face of destitution. A fairer application of the habitual residency requirement would assist in ensuring at risk migrants will not becoming destitute.’

Mr. Quinn added ‘On this occasion of International Day of Solidarity with Migrants we also remember Irish emigrants, past and present, who have fallen on hard times and find themselves on the streets of cities across the world.’  

Finally, Mr. Quinn noted “In these difficult economic times undocumented or irregular migrants are among the most vulnerable people, in Ireland and in Europe. Oftentimes they are reluctant to access emergency services they require for fear of imprisonment or forced return. Policy should ensure their needs are not hidden and unheard.”

Elizabeth O’Rourke, JRS Ireland Integration Officer, and author of an article in Working Notes, said ‘We are more frequently coming into contact with migrants who have no means to survive. Some have no entitlement to welfare because they have not been habitually resident for two years. Often they will say they feel too ashamed to return to their homes and families. So they are accessing emergency accommodation and services.’

Ms O’Rourke also noted that a recent European report highlights the difficulty with the Habitual Residency rule being strictly applied to vulnerable migrants. The report, O’Rourke said ‘cites the hardships of some migrants in Ireland, for example, a couple with a 12 year old quadriplegic son and two infant children, were sleeping in one bedroom and sharing a four bedroom house with five other men to keep costs down as they had no recourse to unemployment benefits when unemployed.’  
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For further information and Interviews with Eugene Quinn, Director JRS Ireland at 086 8214888 or Elizabeth O’Rourke, Integration Officer contact: 086 1741414
[Notes]

These comments come after the Launch of a special issue of Working Notes, ‘JRS: 30 Years of Serving Refugees’, journal of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. It can be accessed electronically at www.jcfj.ie.

Reference above to a Recent European Report: Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (2010) Living in Limbo: Forced Migrant Destitution in Europe, available at: http://www.jrseurope.org/news_releases/ANDES%20report2010.htm