Asylum seekers and their supporters have welcomed comments by President Higgins describing the Direct Provision system as "totally unsatisfactory"
At a protest outside Leinster House to mark Universal Children's Day, Sue Conlon of the Irish Refugee Council said that she was not surprised by the remarks, given the President's record of working with Asylum seekers when he was a TD in Galway.
Ms Conlon said the political momentum which has built up on the issue needs to be maintained so people can get out of Direct Provision and begin to make their contribution to society.
Zakir Saiyed, who lives in the Direct Provision centre in Athlone with his family, said his three-year-old and five-year-old children have very stressful lives in direct provision and the system is making people sick.
Jo Obidoh, who is in direct provision in Sligo, said that, although Direct Provision is not a very bad system, it is very dehumanizing when people are stuck in it for years.
He said he believed the present Government is committed to changing the system and today's protest was to remind people that Direct Provision was not suitable for families, particularly children.
He said under that Direct Provision people are condemned to wasting away their talents while they wanted to contribute to society.
