Children in the Direct Provision system in Ireland have described it as unsafe.
A government report is lifting the lid on the experiences of young asylum seekers here.
There are currently around 4-thousand-800 people living in Direct Provision centres here, while they wait to find out if their applications for asylum have been accepted or rejected.
A quarter of them are under the age of 17 while the vast majority of the children are 12 or younger.
They’ve told researchers at University College Cork they find life in the hotels, hostels and accommodation centres to be overcrowded and dirty.
They appreciate the recreational facilities but say older men can take over shared spaces and sometimes “look creepy” at them.
At the moment the state pays their parents 9 euro 60 per child but the young people say living in poverty means they miss out on school trips and can’t afford new shoes.
The report commissioned by the government marks the first time children in direct provision have been directly consulted about how their lengthy stays there affect their lives.
