Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to refer to the decision that was announced this morning in relation to Oughterard and the fact that the tender for a direct provision centre has been withdrawn. This is incredibly worrying, particularly following on from what happened in Rooskey and Moville. At the end of the day, the direct provision system is far from ideal. It was introduced 20 years ago as a temporary measure. That said, it is what we have on offer for our asylum seekers and refugees, a third of whom are children. Given the current overcrowding in many of our direct provision centres and the fact that almost 1,500 asylum seekers are in emergency accommodation, I am really worried about the message that Ireland is sending out in the context of the last three centres that have been considered. Where do we go from here?

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