Created by former members of the Direct provision system in Ireland ADPI their goals are 

“ – Create awareness about the dire realities of life in Ireland’s direct provision facilities.

– Empower asylum seekers while they wait for their international protection application to be processed;

– Engage the Irish Government on alternatives to direct provision which has been operating in Ireland since 1999.”

They have a large social media following that show the realities of living in Direct Provision and they have also produced two books that tell the stories of people in the system.

A21 want to in their words “end slavery, everywhere, forever”. Their sole focus is to fight human trafficking According to their website “Our Reach, Rescue, and Restore programs work together to provide a comprehensive response to human trafficking. Each program has been designed to stand alone–filling critical gaps in the communities we work in without duplicating efforts.” They also educate and share resources with other organisations that share their mission. 

A global movement of over 20 million people worldwide in Ireland Amnesty International has according to their website “20,000 members and supports campaign on issues like reproductive rights, ending torture and protecting migrant & refugee rights, among others. We are independent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion. We are funded by our members and supporters.”

Business In The Community has an employment programme called EPIC. According to their website “EPIC offers a FREE employment programme  that can help you integrate in Irish society by overcoming some of the most common barriers when looking for work or education such as: lack of Irish work experience, interview preparation, understanding of the Irish standards when preparing CV and Cover Letter. EPIC also offers one to one career guidance, work experience opportunities and support with other issues.”

Created in a direct response to the introduction of the Direct Provision system in Ireland Doras is an independent, not for profit, non-governmental organisation that aims to promote and uphold the human rights and well-being of Refugees through personal advocacy, integration development and collaborative advocacy campaigns at the local and national level.” They do this by providing direct support to around 1200 people in Direct Provision a year, advocating for people in Direct Provision locally and nationally and helping to integrate people in the system into their local communities.

A social enterprise, according to their website “Dídean, meaning, “Shelter” was established in 2019 to provide a community based, social care alternative for persons who require housing support. We provide services to those seeking international protection and those on the homeless register too. Our accommodation is own-door, self-catering and non-clustered. All services are provided in normal community settings and are facilitated by qualified social care professionals who are vetted and fully trained.”

According to their website “At the Immigrant Council of Ireland, an Independent Law Centre, we have been working to provide assistance to people from a migrant background, improving and protecting their rights since our establishment in 2001.” Their vision is “of a society that is fair, respects human rights and diversity and is committed to everyone, including people from a migrant background having the opportunity to fulfil their potential.” and they do this by “support and advocate for the rights of immigrants and their families and act as a catalyst for public debate, legal and policy change.”

According to their social media “Dignity Partnership is a social enterprise that promotes and provides support on self-employment for people who are or have been in the Direct Provision System in Ireland. We match our clients with established businessmen/ women in the communities to provide mentoring and hands on experience on how to run business in Ireland. Our mission is to support people in direct provision improve the quality of their life through our programme. We will support with entrepreneur skills development and providing mentoring and support in setting up businesses. Our vision is empowered people, with a sense of autonomy and better mental wellbeing.”  They will be hosting an event on the 20th of June entitled My Entrepreneurial Journey featuring voices from Refugees to several countries.

GoingFar was created to address a range of issues for Refugees and Migrants to Ireland. They have a range a social programmes, such as coaching Refugees and Migrants on how to get a job in Ireland to mentoring to seminars and workshops. With guest speakers from some of the biggest companies in Ireland, GoingFar is an award winning business and has a network of over 2,000 people and have directly supported 800+ migrants since November 2018. Soon after Ukranian Refugees started arriving in Ireland GoingFar launched a programme of job coaching specifically for them and they were heavily involved in the making of Pryvit.ie, which we go into detail about below.

A membership organisation of over 160 members that aims to rid Ireland of racism in all of it’s forms. It’s mission is “As the national collective voice for building solidarity among groups challenging racism, INAR will fight all forms of racism by providing analysis and tools to empower those who experience racism to take action.“ Their values of Autonomy Democracy, Dignity, Inclusion and Social Justice. They also operate the IREPORT.IE website where anyone from the public  can report racists incidents anywhere in Ireland.

According to their website “We provide services and support for people seeking protection and people recognised as refugees in Ireland and advocate for humane and dignified protection procedures and responses to people fleeing persecution. We work with people who have to flee their home country, as it is no longer safe for them to be there. The most visible example of this is people fleeing war or conflict. However, persecution is not always born of war or conflict.” In 2021, they assist 1479 people from 77 different countries, and the successful implementation of their pilot housing project helped home 60 people in homes throughout Ireland

Created at the start of the pandemic, the organisation started out with a gofundme and a mission to assist people in Direct Provision by providing “urgently needing gloves, masks, sanitizer, soap & bleach” Since then, they have gone on to raise €55,000 in crowdfunding and according to their website:

• Donated €150k worth of sanitary products

• Create an incredibly welcoming community of people and businesses determined to make a difference, and
• above all- have been fortunate enough to spend quality time with some amazing people in direct provision!”

Rainbow Muid is a “peer support group that offers a safe space for people to talk openly and confidentially with other LGBT+ people seeking international protection about their experiences. The group meets monthly on Saturdays. The group is facilitated by the LGBT Ireland peer support group facilitator and volunteers. LGBT Ireland also works closely with the Irish Refugee Council for this support group.”

A movement that began at the very beginning of the introduction of the Direct Provision system in 2014. They provide a platform for asylum seekers in Ireland to join together, seek justice, freedom and dignity for all asylum seekers and advocate for people in the Direct Provision system, so that they can live, be educated and work freely in Ireland today. An NGO, they are open about their decentralised structure and funding they have received. 

According to their website “founded in 2013, MECPATHS is the only non-profit organisation in Ireland which works in direct partnership with the Hospitality Industry and Services Sectors to prevent Child Trafficking and to enhance existing protective measures. We work with Hotel Groups, Hospitality Training Colleges, Universities and Private Industries to deliver workshops, training programmes and bespoke learning materials to help Management and Staff to learn more about Child Trafficking, understand the core concepts of this Global (and Local) challenge and work with each organisation to build a suitable response and reporting protocol.”

The Migrants Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) vision is “for an open, equal, just and diverse society where migrant workers and their families can move, work and live in dignity…We provide free, reliable and confidential information to thousands of people through our national Drop-In Centre, on immigration, trafficking for labour exploitation, employment and housing.”

Dr Francesca La Morgia is the founder and Director of Mother Tongues, a social enterprise working to normalise multilingualism and promote intercultural dialogue in Ireland. The projects developed at Mother Tongues focus on children in the early years by offering them high-quality creative and multilingual experiences to develop confidently. The organisation creates a space that fosters belonging and celebrates linguistic and cultural identities through creating programmes for the educational empowerment of parents and educators. Mother Tongues’ flagship programme for children and their families is called Language Explorers, they offer CPD training on language development and bilingualism, a yearly festival that takes place in mid-February marking UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day and membership to anyone wanting to learn more about the topic.

The Irish word for Link, Nasc links and informs refugees and migrants to their legal rights in Ireland. Nasc values include Respect, Empowerment, Inclusion, Professionalism, Integrity and Partnership with all of those seeking information on their legal standing within Ireland. Their goals include Realising rights, Achieving Systematic Change, Societal Inclusion, advocacy and governance so that all migrants in Ireland have access to information about their rights in Ireland.

Created by The Open Doors Initiative Pathwaystoprogress.ie is an information hub for migrants to Ireland or those looking to employ migrants to Ireland according to their website “If you are a migrant in or coming to Ireland, a refugee, a person seeking asylum or living in direct provision, a person under the EU Temporary Protection Directive or a person who has had their status regularised, you will find information here on working in Ireland, on preparation for and finding work, and on training and education you might find helpful to maximise your chances of finding a suitable job.” going on to say “If you’re an employer, you can find information on preparing your workplace, recruiting and integrating workers from migrant backgrounds into your business, and hopefully, through our recruitment ads, find the right people for your business.” The project is supported by the likes of The Social Enterprise Awards, ESB, Diageo, The Community Foundation for Ireland and Deloitte 

Pryvit.ie was an initiative born out of the impact of the war in Ukraine. The founding team are part of Dublin’s tech community and include Máirín Murray (co-founder Tech for Good Dublin), Talita Holzer (co-founder of GoingFar.ie) and Anton Krasun an Irish citizen from Ukraine who has worked at Twitter and Google. Anton helped his own family to safety in Ireland and knows first hand the challenges people displaced by war face when they arrive here.  Pryvit.ie (which means hello in Ukrainian) provides an easy and practical way for Irish business to help the people of Ukraine through their core products and service. It acts as a very useful directory of what is available. The website lists and translates ‘welcome offers’ of generously discounted or free goods, events or services to those arriving.

Ruhama offers nationwide support to women impacted by prostitution, sex trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. Having been in operation for 32 years.  providing a wide range of specialist, holistic support services. Our services are free, confidential and delivered by a committed and experienced team. Ruhama also advocates and engages in policy work on issues related to prostitution, sex trafficking and the experiences of the women we work with.

Having rebranded from the Cork Rape Crisis Centre in 2004 according to their website “The Centre provides services to survivors of rape, sexual assault and child sexual abuse. There is no ‘typical’ person who comes to the Centre – our clients are both young and old, women and men, of all different nationalities and ethnicities. The door of the Sexual Violence Centre is open to everyone, irrespective of the nature of the sexual violence they experienced or when it occurred.” Their “services include a freephone helpline, counselling, accompaniment to court or the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit and training.”

Created by Graham Clifford The Sanctuary Runners as a running club so that people in direct provision can run with members of their local community and create greater ties between the two. The first Sanctuary Runners event took place in Cork in 2018 where 51 people from 5 different Direct Provision Centres. The company now has over 50 events, by 30 groups with 4,000 members taking part. They have also had events in London and plan more across the UK too. The Sanctuary Runners have created partnerships with the likes of Gym + Coffee and have merchandise such as hoodies to sell on their website.

Through creating The Sanctuary Runners, Graham Clifford and his team realised there was a huge issue in that many indirect provisions don’t understand the information that is provided to them particularly to do with education, immigration and services. Translate Ireland uses the community of multilingual migrants to Ireland to come together and translate education, immigration and services information provided by the government and translates them into the tongues of those in direct provision. In 2021 it won the ‘Public Health initiative of the Year’ award at the Irish Healthcare Awards.

According to their website UNHCR has had a continuous presence in Ireland since 1998. We work with the Irish government, officials, ngos and other partners to protect people forced to flee their homes and support them to live their lives with dignity and respect. Ireland has acceded to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. UNHCR’s supervisory role in relation to compliance with the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is recognised in national legislation (The International Protection Act 2015). You can see how they provide information to people in the Direct Provision system through this link