Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps the Acting Chairman will let me finish this one sentence. Except in exceptional circumstances no asylum seeker is obliged to live in RIA accommodation. Some choose to live on their own resources or with friends or family. Down through the years many have not availed of direct provision. Essentially, the system is intended for those who arrive in the State seeking international protection and who are otherwise destitute.

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