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The first article of a three-part series explains why the hostel system is not properly accountable to its residents. What started as an emergency measure a decade ago has become a way of life for thousands of asylum seekers

FAYCAL DAOUD sits on the edge of his tattered bed with his head in his hands as he explains how he feels let down by a system that is supposed to protect and care for him. The 30-year-old asylum seeker, who suffers from epilepsy, fled Algeria in 2008, narrowly escaping death as he crossed the Mediterranean in a flimsy boat. But, far from finding safety and peace in Ireland, he says he is in a “living hell” at Globe House, a former convent housing 210 asylum seekers in Sligo.