Disease hits Ireland's homeless asylum-seekers as conditions deteriorate

Some of those seeking international protection are camped out in tents across Dublin, as an asylum crisis continues to grip the country.

Transcript

00:00 Conditions are deteriorating for asylum seekers in Dublin amid a surge in numbers and slow

00:07 processing times. Outbreaks of scabies and respiratory illnesses have been reported among

00:13 those camped out in front of the applications office headquarters in Dublin. With no more

00:18 emergency accommodation available, at least 200 people have been living in tents for weeks.

00:24 You get very easy sick illnesses because of sanitary conditions, almost impossible. For

00:31 toilet you must find out somewhere. In Dublin city there is no toilet, public toilet, no

00:41 public shower. Dealing with such things is very, very difficult.

00:47 In a situation like this with no opportunity for sanitation and no availability of washing

00:53 machine facilities to do hot washes for their bedding and their clothes, it's going to be

00:58 very difficult to treat and it's quite contagious. So with everyone living on top of each other

01:02 with these poor conditions, it's going to be very difficult to get on top of.

01:06 Some 13,000 people sought asylum in Ireland in 2023, with demands continuing to grow during

01:12 the first month of 2024. That's on top of the more than 100,000 Ukrainians who have

01:18 sought refuge in the country. Amid one of Europe's worst housing crises, authorities

01:23 are struggling to cope with the unprecedented demand.

01:26 [SWOOSH]