The Government needs to implement a strategy to prevent further accidents among the children of asylum-seekers, according to the parents of an eight-month-old boy who died last weekend in Cork when a kettle of boiling water fell on him.
The father of the dead child, Mr Bakary Dembele, said he hoped the Irish authorities would learn from the tragedy and would begin to offer more suitable accommodation to asylum-seekers with families.
"I doubt that my son's death will change things but I hope some good comes out of it. I don't know how they expected anyone to cope with a child in a space as small as our room," he said.
Mr Dembele said gardai in Cork measured the room at the Ashbourne House Hotel and realised it was too small for a family of three.
In effect, the couple believe it was an accident waiting to happen. When the Dembeles arrived at the hotel they requested a larger room but were refused.
The day before their son died the couple had been told they would be moving to a larger room. However, at the last minute they were informed that two new asylum-seekers were being sent to the hotel and the room was needed for them.
Mr Dembele and his wife, Mariam, are still living in the hotel. They have, however, moved into a larger room. The couple, who are from the Ivory Coast, said they felt that the move was an empty gesture.
"Why would they give us a bigger room now? There are only two of us where once there were three. We are still looking for somewhere to live. It would have been some comfort for us to have moved out of our present accommodation," said Mr Dembele.
The couple were particularly hurt by media coverage of their son's death, which they felt was sensationalised.
The Dembeles are very fearful of speaking to the press because they do not want to offend the Irish authorities.
Their experiences in Ireland had been positive prior to their son's death. The family had lived in Kenmare, Co Kerry, and had only moved to Cork to facilitate their son's weekly appointment with a doctor there.