Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I do not know whether asylum seekers are at greater risk of poverty than the rest of the population. I suspect that many of the groups involved would refute the Minister's point but I will ask them for reports to support their claims.

The direct provision concept is wrong. The Mosney camp in east Meath is the centre closest to me. I recall when it was Butlins which we visited on school trips when it was brilliant craic with roller skating, boating and so on. I visit asylum seekers there frequently to discuss their problems and by the time I get to the car park I am depressed because the place is so bleak. The accommodation appears as it did back in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

The residents must take a taxi to the nearest town, Drogheda, which is approximately four or five miles away. If they walk two miles they can get a bus. Those costs add up but the people receive less than €20 a week which is appalling in human terms.

The amendment asks the Minister to report on the direct provision scheme for asylum seekers, within the next three months, highlight the hardship it causes that group and report to the Dáil on the implications of increasing it before the next budget. That is a minimal request and I hope the Minister will listen to it.

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