The Irish Refugee Council has expressed concern about a group of women asylum-seekers who have been transferred to accommodation in Co Galway after an outbreak of chickenpox at Balseskin reception centre in Dublin.
The 11 women are in various stages of pregnancy, and have been housed for the past fortnight in a hotel in Glenamaddy. The women claim that they have been subjected to sexual and racial harassment by some patrons. Their rooms are located between the hotel's bar and restaurant.
Gardaí in Glenamaddy confirmed to The Irish Times that an investigation into the claims had been initiated and was at an "early stage".
The Department of Justice's Reception and Integration Agency sent an official to examine the situation earlier this week.
The women, who do not wish to be identified, claim they have been accosted in the hallway by some patrons and subjected to racist comments and asked for sexual favours.
They say that a bedroom door was opened on one occasion, and another woman was harassed while leaving the bathroom.
A spokesman for the Reception and Integration Agency said a contract had been agreed with the Oakland Hotel from June 11th. He confirmed that the hotel had been used before to house asylum-seekers but said that there had been "no complaints" about the premises before.
The agency was carrying out an "urgent investigation" into complaints forwarded to it.
The proprietor of the hotel declined to comment yesterday and said that the issue was a matter for the Reception and Integration Agency.