Department of Justice officials monitor posts criticising Direct Provision on social media

Officials compile reports on comments on Direct Provision by Marian Keyes, Hozier and others

PLEA: Marian Keyes urged 211,000 followers to sign petition. Photo: Gareth Chaney

Ellen Coyne

August 16 2020 02:30 AM

Officials at the Department of Justice have been monitoring celebrities, politicians, asylum seekers and members of the public who criticise Direct Provision on social media.

The Department of Justice compiled daily reports of social media posts discussing Direct Provision, how much traction they had and whether or not they were critical of the Government.

Marian Keyes, Christy Moore, Hozier and Roderic O'Gorman, the new minister who will have responsibility for Direct Provision, all had their comments against Direct Provision recorded and included in the reports.

Ms Keyes told the Sunday Independent: "It would be better if the Government put their resources into dismantling Direct Provision and all its attendant horrors instead of simply monitoring opposition to it."

Surveillance of social media appeared to start at the height of Covid-19 in March, when campaign groups and asylum seekers were warning that the virus could easily spread within the accommodation centres. Direct Provision centres have recently emerged as one of the main sources of outbreaks of Covid.

The documents, which were released under Freedom of Information, show social media reports were compiled by the Department of Justice from March to June.

The department made a note of asylum seekers and campaigners who criticised Direct Provision, and also which groups supported them or retweeted the comments.

The reports listed news articles about Direct Provision shared online by journalists. It reviewed the comments section under articles, analysing how much criticism of the Government they contained.

A department report from early May said news articles had received "some attention... however the comments were not negative towards the Department or the Government but rather against asylum seekers, with many calling for deportations".

The reports noted the amount of times Direct Provision was compared to Magdalene laundries or mother and baby homes. Officials also noted tweets and retweets of articles in late March by Roderic O'Gorman, who was then the Green Party spokesman on justice and equality.

In June, a report said Ms Keyes had tweeted a petition against Direct Provision "to her 211,000 followers". Christy Moore and Hozier also had their tweets recorded.

Most reports recorded the online activity of the Movement of Asylum Seekers of Ireland (MASI), a group of asylum seekers campaigning for an end to Direct Provision.

One report said MASI had been "capitalising" on increased attention on Direct Provision while another noted calls for Ireland to copy Portugal and grant asylum seekers full citizenship rights during Covid. "Of course MASI also shared this," the report said.

MASI said it was "appalled" the Department of Justice had "dedicated civil servants monitoring our tweets".

It said: "Irish taxpayers and asylum seekers would be better served by the Department addressing its disgraceful treatment of asylum seekers."

The Department of Justice said it started a new policy of monitoring social media during Covid-19 to improve its communications strategy.

The department said it has also started monitoring tweets about An Garda Síochána, prisons, family law, domestic violence and family courts. It said monitoring social media allowed it to "correct any inaccuracies raised, investigate complaints and respond accordingly".