Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his intentions to increase the rate of the direct provision allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5262/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Direct Provision system seeks to ensure that the accommodation and ancillary services provided by the State meet the requirements of asylum seekers in the period during which their applications for asylum are being processed. This system provides asylum seekers with full board accommodation free of utility or other costs.

In addition to meeting these basic living costs, a Direct Provision allowance of €19.10 per adult and €9.60 per child was introduced some years ago and is paid by Community Welfare Officers (CWO's), operating under the aegis of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. CWO's also have discretion to make once-off exceptional needs payments in relation to, for example, back to school clothing. The Direct Provision allowance seeks to reflect the value of the above-mentioned services to the asylum seeker and there are no plans to increase the allowance. It should also be noted that asylum seekers in Direct Provision also qualify for medical cards and can access the public health service in the same way as an Irish citizen and that children are entitled to free education at Primary and Post-Primary level.