Five Nigerian women and their seven children under the age of three were last night preparing to sleep on the streets after the Asylum Applications Office in Dublin refused to find them alternative accommodation in the city.
The group of asylum seekers had been staying in a hostel in Co Limerick but claimed it was not fit for children and decided to come to Dublin to seek an alternative.
They were provided with emergency accommodation in south Co Dublin on Wednesday night but were then told to return to their hostel in Co Limerick.
Having refused the offer of travel vouchers back to Limerick, they spent all day outside the applications office and as darkness fell last night, they were preparing to sleep on the street.
"They would not even let us in [ to the office] to rest or warm up. My daughter had to wee on the pavement because they wouldn't let us in to use the toilets," said one of the mothers, Christina Afuape.
"I don't know what we are going to do tonight. My one-year-old son has an infection and my daughter has asthma.
"We came to Ireland to seek asylum. We would rather be in Nigeria but that is not possible for different reasons ... We don't want to be standing here on the street but we can't go back to that hostel. We need somewhere safe and healthy to live," said Ms Afuape.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the group should not have left the accommodation provided for them in Co Limerick.
"There are 8,000 asylum seekers in RIA (Reception and Integration Agency) accommodation around the country.
"There is a procedure to follow if people are not happy with their accommodation. It's not acceptable to turn up in Dublin and demand alternative accommodation," she said.
She also rejected the women's claim that the hostel in Limerick was not suitable for children. "The hostels are all inspected on a regular basis so it would not be open if it wasn't acceptable for people to stay there... In terms of tonight, there is a 24-hour number to call if they need emergency accommodation. There is no need to sleep on the streets."
But Rosanna Flynn of Residents Against Racism said the problem was indicative of the Government's general attitude towards asylum seekers.
"The treatment of asylum seekers in Ireland and, in particular, Nigerian asylum seekers beggars belief and is getting worse ... I am absolutely horrified by this," said Ms Flynn.