Ms Nuala Ward:

That is a really good question and one we would also love to have the answer to. As the Senator knows, HIQA has provision to monitor international protection services that are State funded or State owned, which represents only about 35% of direct provision services in the country so there is a huge gap. We have gone out to many of these emergency centres. We have done a huge amount of work on direct provision and we remain deeply concerned about the quality of the accommodation being provided to these children and families. We have gone out and seen mould and dirt and have seen families not able to cook. All these issues impact greatly on children, not only their health but also mental well-being. We believe that HIQA as a regulator should be given remit over these emergency accommodations as quickly as possible to help to drive up the standards and ensure there are robust child protection and safeguards for children in these centres.