Standards are plummeting in Direct Provision and the basic needs of families and children are often unmet, according to research published by the Irish Refugee Council.
Participants living in varying standards of accommodation and in rural and urban locations were involved in the research, which was funded by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
A multilingual survey was conducted with parents, which included nine focus groups with mothers living in Direct Provision centres across the country. It received 192 responses.
Independent researcher Sara Cid found that insufficient nutritional support, transportation limitations, partial healthcare coverage, a lack of organised leisure activities and difficulties accessing essential amenities are among issues facing participants.
The report found that while the Daily Expenses Allowance (DEA) is designed for personal and incidental expenses when basic needs are being met, participants are spending a considerable portion of the funds on clothing, medicines, toiletries, transportation and items for their children such as diapers, wipes and school lunch supplies.
Parents (88%) felt that the DEA was insufficient to cover basic needs such as food and healthcare and many respondents (80%) also indicated that the DEA was insufficient to cover many of their children's basic needs.
Half of those involved in the survey said that the child DEA is spent on meeting childcare-related expenses.
Children 'being left behind' - report
A large number (84%) stated that the DEA is insufficient to cover childcare-related needs and over half (57%) said they faced challenges in saving money for future needs or emergencies.
Many participants stated that their children were being left behind and excluded from participating in social and extracurricular activities.
One mother reported saving money for two weeks to pay for registration with the local football club and having to wait until the next DEA payment to pay the balance.
Others described being unable to pay for trips and excursions organised by the school.
Some noted disappointments caused by having to consistently choose to fulfil basic needs over children's hobbies and interests and the barriers to integration this poised.
Many parents stated that they struggle to afford to take their children outside of their accommodation during the summer holidays.
Call for DEA increase
The research concluded that the exclusion of children in the protection process from receiving Child Benefit directly impacts the well-being, integration and social development of these children and families within Irish society.
Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Refugee Council Nick Henderson said that due to the cost-of-living crisis, people in the protection process and Direct Provision are particularly vulnerable.
The IRC has urged Government to include an increase of the DEA in line with inflation.
Mr Henderson said: "It is completely inappropriate to increase welfare payments across the board as a cost-of-living measure, while ignoring this particularly marginalised group.
"People seeking protection rely on the DEA to afford necessities like sanitary products and public transport, often from very rural locations."
