People Before Profit TD, Gino Kenny, has labelled the Direct Provision system as “totally inhumane and a danger to child safety.”

The TD for Dublin Mid-West made the comments upon the revelations of a report, into children’s experiences of Direct Provision, by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Justice and Equality which was reported on in the media today.

The report outlines testimony from children living in the Direct Provision system who say they “do not like anything about living in the system” and that there has been serious breaches in child protection procedure.

Some children reported having to share cooking, computer and television facilities with single men. They also described the facilities as “dirty” and “overcrowded”.

Mr Kenny said that these most recent revelations further show that the system of Direct Provision is not only unfit for purpose and contrary to human rights, but that it is fresh evidence that the system is in fact a danger for young children.

He said: “The system of direct provision is an inhumane system, it is degrading for the people who live there and now we have evidence that shows that there are very immediate dangers for young children in clear and blatant breaches of child protection laws.

“The Direct Provision system is essentially an open air prison which denies many basic human rights for people. These people have had to flee war torn countries and from the most desperate situations. They are shoved into these cramped and degrading settings with very poor dietary provisions and living conditions.

“The Direct Provision system needs to be wound up and the inhabitants of that vile system need to be accommodated in a way that does not abuse their human rights. The government need to bring this report to the Dáil so it can be debated by all members of the Oireachtas.”