More than 600 children under the age of four are living in the country's asylum seeker system amid ongoing fears over the treatment of people in such centres. The Department of Justice confirmed the figures during a meeting in which officials also revealed 142 people have been in the asylum system for more than seven years. Department secretary general Aidan O'Driscoll told the Dáil's public accounts committee that a total of 1,630 children of all ages are currently living in direct provision. The figure includes a total of 673 children under the age of four, with Mr O'Driscoll added that it is "obvious" this is the case when someone visits a centre. Asked how much the immigration/asylum system is costing, Mr O Driscoll told Ms Connolly it cost €67m in 2017, €77m in 2018 and that he expects the system to cost "up and around €95-100m this year, it would be my guess".

Source: Irish Examiner April 04, 2019 12:56 UTC