16 children under 5 have died in direct provision

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed that 16 asylum-seeker children aged up to five have died while living in direct provision in the last 13 years.

She confirmed that the number of deaths in the 0-5 age group was the largest among the asylum-seeker population in 2002-14.

In a written Dáil response to Sinn Féin TD Michael Colreavy, Ms Fitzgerald confirmed that there were 61 asylum-seeker deaths in direct provision between 2002 and 2014, 41 of whom were males.