Eileen Flynn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I understand that the Minister of State does not have responsibility in this area but the reply is not good enough. He went into the issue of accommodation and the €30 per week that families in direct provision get but my question was about the implementation of the payment of €140 per month. If it is not good enough for white, settled children then why is it good enough for children living in direct provision? Why is the Government not supporting children in direct provision? Mark my words, if we are alive to see the next 20 or 30 years, this State will have to give a State apology for how it treated people in direct provision, for the inequality and for standing by the unfair treatment of children living in direct provision. I do not mean to sound in any way hateful towards the Minister of State - far from it - but this is absolutely appalling. The money is there and the plan to implement the payment is there. Why the Government cannot move on it is beyond me. Who are we to say that one child matters more than another? Right now, the Government of Ireland is saying that a child living in direct provision matters less than a child living in ordinary accommodation.