A group of Ballaghaderreen refugees have written to the Justice Minister threatening to take legal action over alleged problems in the Abbeyfield Hotel emergency reception and orientation centre.

In an email released under the Freedom of Information Act, with personal details omitted, they also claim there was an alleged assault on a staff member over the food at the centre.

Jacqueline Mullen, the centre manager, says the complaint was baseless and was written solely as a means of the refugees securing permanent accommodation elsewhere.

In October, a group of about ten Syrian refugees emailed the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan complaining about the food quality and kitchen area in the Ballaghaderreen centre.

They also complain about the ‘inefficiency of chefs’, claiming food is sometimes not cooked well, and the ‘poor cleanliness’ of the kitchen, tools and staff.

They take issue with Syrians who appear to be working in the kitchen and call on the Minister to send a delegation to investigate the matter.

Otherwise, they say they’ll ‘hire a lawyer and file a collective lawsuit against the company responsible for food at the centre’.

The refugees claim that when department representatives arrive at the centre, they will discover the majority of people have the same problem.

They also claim there was an alleged assault of a staff member in the facility recently because of the food.

Ms Mullen, the manager of the centre, claims the complaint was entirely false and written by a group of refugees hoping it’d convince the Minister to move them to permanent accommodation after being in the Ballaghaderreen for eight months.

The Irish Refugee Protection Programme says it’s committed to high standards in all emergency reception and orientation centres and addresses quality control issues such as those raised by means of regular visits and inspections, including of course at the hotel in question.