Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the briefing. A document was released today by a group of masters students in the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway. I believe the Minister has received a copy of the report. The study is called Direct Provision's Impact on Children: A Human Rights Analysis. It was undertaken in collaboration with the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, MASI, and as part of the international human rights law clinic under the supervision of Dr. Maeve O'Rourke. The results of this report are very stark. It shines a light on the impact on children of living in direct provision and emergency accommodation.

The report argues that the children's rights are being breached in areas where accommodation in isolated areas creates barriers to accessing specialist services, including mental health services and social care, and that a lack of proper food and nutrition in centres where self-catering facilities are unavailable hampers children's health and development. The prohibitive cost of educational materials also creates barriers to accessing education. The report lists a range of areas where children are impacted by the conditions we place them in when we put them into direct provision or emergency accommodation.

I am aware that this is an area the Minister is prioritising, which is very welcome. I understand that a significant amount of money is being put towards that in the Estimates. Are there any targeted measures provided in these Estimates that will address the specific issues of children in direct provision and emergency accommodation?

The Minister has said that a lot of the money and additional costs this year are because of the need for the emergency accommodation. Will the Minister outline for the committee the differences in regulation between direct provision accommodation and emergency accommodation? Quite a number of my constituents are coming to me with concerns on this, particularly around the emergency accommodation provision, where they feel that there is a lack of transparency in how those services are monitored. It is very difficult to ascertain the kinds of conditions in which people are living in those emergency accommodations.