Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The reason we have the age of 14 is that under EURODAC, which is the European database for international protection and comparisons of fingerprints for applicants for international protection, the age is 14. We are complying with this EURODAC regulation from 2013. Therefore, it is the case at a European level but it is also the same within the UK, so, again, we are mirroring what we had before and we are not changing anything. I do not think it creates any kind of anomaly because we are following the EU regulations in this regard. In this instance, it is the right decision that we continue to follow EU regulations but, also, regulations that will exist and will mirror this in the UK as well.