All this has exploded on our doorstep. The fact is that the poor and vulnerable will be the ones that will suffer most globally and locally in this pandemic - Fr Paddy Byrne.

“This is yet another example of the many ‘accidental cruelties’ of the direct provision system. Nobody means to do harm and everybody does their job, sort of, but things seem to happen to persons in direct provision that don’t happen to other people because it’s a system without a heart.”

Karen Ward, speaking of Mary McAleese and her guest, said: “They really felt the essence of pilgrimage – that every step is a prayer, that it takes you deeper into yourself, and being out in nature.”

Catholic Bishop of Meath and Church of Ireland Primate focus on the human cost of the homeless crisis in their Christmas messages.

“We were not just speaking out because there were Catholics involved – there was a justice issue regardless of the faith of any of the folk in the direct provision centre.” –Fr Damian Farnon

All children who need an assessment of mental health in emergency departments should be able to access this quickly – not days after the event – Dr Niall Muldoon.

The introduction of a more general right to work from June, for those who can avail of it, should ease some of the stress people experience while waiting. Ultimately, however, they need certainty about their fate to move forward with their lives – Enda O’Neill, Head of Office with UNHCR Ireland.

The government's minimalist response to the Supreme Court judgement, does not reflect the equality of dignity or the compassion that is so often promoted as a core value of Irish society.

Last year the Government was ordered by the highest court in Ireland, to allow asylum seekers into the labour market.

“Christmas asks of us that we turn from singing carols to raising our voices to ensure the voices of the vulnerable are heard and their needs recognised” - Archbishop Michael Jackson.

“We talk a lot about the challenges of family life but those of you who are here today are here because you know that overall the family brings a fulfilment into your lives that is quite unique.”

“The question which is agitating the world today is a social one. It is a struggle between those who have nothing and those who have too much. It is a violent clash of opulence and poverty which is shaking the ground under our feet.” – SVP founder Frederic Ozanam.

Some of the most common complaints made to JRS Ireland about living conditions related to a lack of access to cooking facilities and inadequate private living space.

Pope Francis to visit the Greek island of Lesbos next week as a gesture of solidarity with migrants.

As the country prepares to welcome refugees, we are "challenged to engage with the poverty, homelessness sub-standard accommodation that many are living in".

Bishops mark International Human Rights Day with a call to redouble efforts to prevent more deaths of homeless people on our streets.

“The common good seems to have gone off our national and ecclesiastical radar over the last half-decade" Archbishop Jackson warns.

“Urgent reform is required to avoid the creation of an unjust two-tier system in which the needs of those waiting for status for many years are overlooked.”

A committee has been set up in the Co Laois town to locate and prepare housing for refugee families.

Jesuit Refugee Service calls on the Government to provide funding and support to help them transition to life outside Direct Provision.

Desperate attempts by thousands of refugees to cross the Mediterranean is a challenge to ‘Christian’ Europe, which demands a coordinated and compassionate response.

Statement marks International Human Rights Day with a call to protect the human rights of those living in poverty, asylum seekers and the trafficked.

Direct provision is a "desperately unjust system that condemns families and children to live awfully restricted lives for many many years" - Mgr John Byrne.

Children are “uniquely vulnerable to the lifelong consequences of growing up in such an institutionalised environment”.

Government challenged by two senators to reform its handling of asylum applications.

Vicar General of Kildare & Leighlin warns that children at Montague centre are growing up in an institution which is like an open prison.

Statement published to coincide with World Refugee Day today.

Call for urgent reform of current asylum system in Ireland