Dr. Niall Muldoon:

On direct provision, we are very clearly on the record that the time has come for change. I am very hopeful that the working group will make a difference. The Minister for Justice and Equality showed herself to be very strong on children's rights when she was Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. She made the very important change with regard to St. Patrick's Institution and taking 16 and 17 year olds out of the adult prison system. That change affected 60 or 70 young people whereas direct provision affects between 1,500 and 1,600 young people. It makes sense that we would have oversight of the system and, indeed, other Oireachtas committees have argued for that too. I hope that the time has come for us to say that we cannot stand over a system that was set up initially as a stop-gap. It was set up, if I remember correctly, because there were issues at Rosslare. A hotel was available and new immigrants were housed there. That seemed to work for a while but then we ended up creating a system in which people have been left in such accommodation, in some cases, for almost 15 years. It is not tenable and as has been said by the other Oireachtas committee, it is not fit for purpose. When that report was being launched, I sat and listened to the parents who were living in direct provision accommodation. One parent spoke of having a birthday party for her ten year old son the previous day. He was born in the direct provision system and has had ten birthdays in that environment, with no option to develop friendships or to invite people home to his place. His family has lived for ten years with no privacy. The HIQA report published last week highlighted the damage that can be done under the direct provision system. It showed that child protection issues are more prevalent within the system. It is time to reconsider the entire system and it is certainly time to increase my office's oversight of direct provision.