December 2005

Editorial

This issue of Working Notes commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The mission of JRS is ‘to accompany, advocate and serve’ refugees and displaced persons across the world. The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice works closely with JRS Ireland in a joint integration project, Community Links, funded by the European Refugee Fund, and in public advocacy and lobbying on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers in relevant areas of policy.

December, 2005

TO DETAIN OR NOT TO DETAIN?
Eugene Quinn and Renaud de Villaine

"Eugene Quinn is Director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and Acting National Director of JRS Ireland. Renaud de Villaine is Policy and Advocacy Officer for JRS Europe"

In January 2004, the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, heavily criticised the policies of the European Union towards refugees and migrants. In a speech to the Members of the European Parliament, he spoke of ‘offshore barriers’ and of ‘refused entry because of restrictive interpretations’ of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. He said that asylum seekers are ‘detained for excessive periods in unsatisfactory conditions’.1

The Challenge 25 Years On
John Dardis SJ

John Dardis SJ is the Irish Jesuit Provincial and was formerly Regional Director for JRS Europe

The Jesuit Refugee Service was set up twenty-five years ago by Father Pedro Arrupe, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, at a time when the people fleeing Vietnam in boats were high profile on our TV screens. Now the JRS works in over thirty countries on five continents. Former JRS-Europe Director, Fr John Dardis SJ, who is current head of the Jesuits in Ireland, reflects on the Irish situation and the international challenge.

December 2005

Refugees:
A Challenge to Solidarity
Cathy Molloy

Cathy Molloy is a Research Officer in the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice

Introduction
The Christian understanding of solidarity is one of the fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching and is often the basis on which action towards, and with, people in situations of need is promoted. Solidarity, in this understanding, goes beyond a \'feeling of vague compassion, or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near or far\' and calls for \'a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual because we are all really responsible for all.1

December 2005

Deportation
Joan Roddy DMJ

"Sr Joan Roddy DMJ is Director of the Refugee and Migrant Project of the Irish Bishops\' Conference"

Today, for many of us, the mention of return, removal, or deportation, conjures up thoughts of dawn raids on people\'s homes and rushed midnight air flights. Swift enforced departures, with little or no forewarning, are accompanied by hasty packing, frequently under Garda surveillance, with no chance to communicate this unexpected turn-of-events to friends, neighbours, church or school, much less say good-bye. For some parents, it has meant family break-up where they have had to leave behind small children. Those of us who watched that RTE Prime Time programme which showed one such experience cannot but have been moved to see the grief of mothers and the trauma etched on the faces of their children. What-ever the arguments, it is difficult to believe that there is not a better alternative than a procedure which leaves parents on one continent and their young children on another, thousands of miles away.

Editorial Comment - Second Report of the Morris Tribunal
Peter McVerry SJ

The Second Report of the Morris Tribunal, published on 1 June 2005, makes even more disturbing reading than the First Report, which was commented on in in November 2004. The Tribunal investigated the corruption that existed among some Gardai in Donegal, the manipulation of facts intended to deceive Garda Management, "gross integligence at senior level" and "appalling management". 

Introduction
At the close of the 20th century, a mere five years ago, there was delight and optimism in planning and environmentally informed
circles that Ireland was for the first time ever about to have a hierarchically integrated system of interrelated plans covering the country and operating at every level. Preparation of the National Spatial Strategy was well advanced. The provided a statutory basis for the preparation and implementation of Regional Planning Guidelines. The Act also modernised the\'Development Plan\' process and established procedures for making and implementing Local Area Plans. This new approach to planning was introduced against the continuing national partnership approach, most recently articulated in .

What Have You Done to your Homeless Brother?
The United Nations proclaimed 1987 the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless and to coincide with that time Pope John Paul II asked that the Church undertake its own reflection on the problem of housing. The result was What Have You Done to your Homeless Brother? a document of the Pontifical \'Justice and Peace\' Commission, presented on 27 December 1987 by its President, Roger Cardinal Etchegaray.1 This short article will focus mainly on some of the points from that document.

June 2005

Margaret Burns*

Introduction
In spring 2004, Focus Ireland, the voluntary organisation dealing with homelessness, placed a series of poster advertisements around Dublin city. These were designed to look rather like the plaques which are put on buildings to indicate that a noted artist, political figure or other famous person once lived there. A typical Focus Ireland \'plaque\' read: \'Paul Ryan, Homeless Person, Lived Here, August 2003\'. Posted alongside doorways, bridges and other places that might provide minimal shelter, they were a graphic reminder of the continuing problem of homelessness in the midst of a vibrant and clearly prosperous city. On the evening I first saw one of these posters, I turned on the radio and encountered a very different advertisement: this one announced a Holiday Home Fair for the latest location to become \'the\' destination for Irish people wanting to buy that second home abroad. The two advertisements pointedly illustrated the widening gap in the experience of different groups of people in Ireland with regard to housing (and income and wealth) which has been such a feature of this society over the past decade.

Introduction

The evaluation of existing plans and services for homeless people currently being undertaken by the independent review of 1 provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made in recent years in addressing homelessness in Dublin and to highlight the significant challenges that are still ahead if the aim of eliminating homelessness in the capital by 2010 is to be realised.