‘I’m going to stay’: Mother in Limerick fights against forced relocation of 200 Ipas residents

A MOTHER who is one of nearly 200 people in Limerick Ipas housing facing forced relocation to Donegal this Friday has vowed to stay put to keep her three children in their local schools.

One of the schools in question has also stepped in, with a number of members of staff sending a letter to Government urging a change of course.

Fatimah Ayodele was left “devastated, shattered” and “full of tears” when she received a letter informing her she would have to uproot her young family - children Anjie, 8, Simon, 10, and Ade, 12 - more than 330km away to Letterkenny in County Donegal.

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This comes despite the youngest two being settled in Limerick Educate Together School, with the eldest Ade, at Mungret Community College, and having just been elected to the student council.

For her part, Fatimah has a full-time job as a care assistant with Avista in Lisnagry and volunteered for Tidy Towns before getting her work permit.

“I cannot imagine changing my kids in school for a third time,” she outlined, pointing out how they were originally in St Patrick’s School at Dublin Road in Limerick, before securing a place at Educate Together, just a short walk from where they are living now.

Staff at Educate Together have added their voices with a number of members signing a letter to Government urging a change of course.

“The children started in our school last year and we have done much to support them across the school. They are just settling and beginning to thrive and enjoy school life. We are aghast that they might have to move away in a week’s time. All this family needs is to be placed in accommodation in the Mungret / Dooradoyle area of Limerick in order to be able to continue with their school lives,” the letter adds.

Fatimah, pictured in the bedroom she shares with her children, believes there is space in other Ipas accommodation in Limerick that she could move to.

“I didn’t see it coming this fast. I can’t believe I would be transferred that far away. I was thinking, if they wanted to close down this centre for one reason or another, would they consider putting us in other accommodation centres in Limerick, within this local area.”

She added: “I am not coping well at all. I haven’t been able to sleep the last few days. But I need to be strong for my children, as I am the only one they look up to.”

Despite being ordered to leave Mungret this Friday morning, she has insisted: “I am going to stay here. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ve not packed. Where would I start from? I’ve lived here for three years. I want my kids to be able to continue with their studies in the same school.”

Letters sent to residents from the Department of Justice have informed them their temporary accommodation in Abbey Grove at Mungret “will no longer be in a position to accommodate Ipas applicants.”

Up to now, they were sharing 16 homes in the estate, with three families to one house, sometimes a single family of four in one bedroom sharing two bunk-beds.

Efforts were being made this Thursday to grant them an 11th hour reprieve, with Limerick TD Conor Sheehan raising the matter with Colm Brophy, the Minister of State responsible for Ipas centres, and Cllr Ursula Gavan providing on-the-ground support.

Some other occupants have also outlined the disruption the move will cause to their lives, with many settling down in Limerick, finding jobs and having children in local schools.

Like other residents, Fatimah received a letter from the Government informing her she would be moving. It is dated October 3, but she claimed she did not receive it until last Friday, October 10. A number of other residents reported the same.

One woman who is also living in the same Ipas accommodation, is being moved to Lisdoonvarna in Clare.

This is despite the fact the woman - who wishes to remain anonymous - is two years into a four-year social care course at Technological University of the Shannon in Limerick.

“I don’t know what I will do. My bus takes three hours to get here. It’s a one-hour drive by car. I am not working, and paying my own fees. So I am going to have financial strain”.

Another resident, who fled civil war in Sudan after losing her family, is being sent to Donegal Town.

“I have rebuilt my life here. How can I go back and start from the beginning again?” she asked.

A single mum-of-two children, aged 17 months and three years, is concerned as one of her children has asthma. Being ordered to move to Wicklow, she will be a 45-minute drive from the nearest big city, she said.

Another resident, who has her son in a creche, is fearful that when she moves to Dublin, she will not be able to find a similar facility.

Cllr Gavan called for “urgent intervention”.

“The callous disregard for Fatimah and her young children is nothing short of disgraceful,” said the Independent councillor

Mr Sheehan added: “It doesn’t make any sense to arbitrarily move people around the country like this.”

Limerick Live has contacted the Department of Justice, which administers the Ipas accommodation scheme, for a response.