Ms Kate Duggan:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to appear before it today. I am joined by Ms Clare Murphy, national director of services and integration, and Ms Lorna Kavanagh, area manager, national services and integration. Refugee and migrant children are one of the most vulnerable groups of children in Ireland. Whether in care, accommodated by the State, or settled with their families, they face a broad range of challenges such as housing, health, education, community integration, reunification and risk of exploitation or trafficking. Tusla supports children and young people living with their parents in International Protection or emergency reception centres, separated children who are being cared for by adults who are not their legal guardians, and unaccompanied minors.

Tusla, together with our partners in the community and voluntary sector, provides support to these children who are living with their parents in international protection and emergency reception centres. This includes family support, service signposting, information and advice; access to preschool supports; school placement and after-school services; resettlement programmes; and needs assessment. Our area managers communicate with centre managers to ensure the centres are clear on referral pathways for Tusla where a child protection concern may arise. Tusla also provides core operational leadership at national and local level to lead and co-ordinate the 27 children and young person services committees.

Tusla and the Children's Rights Alliance are jointly commissioning research into identifying integrated family support approaches for families living in the international protection accommodation system to inform how we can better support them. I acknowledge our staff and our partners in the community and voluntary sector for their agility and hard work in responding to meet the needs of these children and families. However, as the numbers increase we will be further challenged to respond in a timely and accessible way within existing resources.

Separated children seeking international protection and unaccompanied minors are children under 18 years of age who present in Ireland from their country of origin who may need international protection and are separated from their parents or their legal or customary caregiver. Many of these young people may have high levels of vulnerability and-or have experienced significant trauma. They require access to various State services. The problems and challenges they may face include separation from family and friends, bereavement, social isolation, language barriers, emotional and mental health problems, discrimination, racism and uncertainty around their future. However, this is not an homogenous group of young people. Many of the young people who arrive in Ireland are aged between 16 and 18 years and are in search of accommodation, access to education or employment and reunification with their families. Each of their needs can be different.

Tusla's team that works with separated children seeking international protection delivers its service from the point when a child is identified by Department of Justice immigration officials as a potential separated child seeking international protection or an unaccompanied minor. This dedicated team undertakes an assessment which informs care planning, placement allocation and, where eligible, access to aftercare. Our team also supports these young people with the reunification process in the absence of a clear mandate to undertake same.

Over the past 12 months, there has been a significant and unprecedented increase in the numbers presenting to or being referred to this service. This has significantly impacted our ability to respond appropriately. In response to this we have scaled up services through increasing staffing levels and the number of placements. Despite our efforts, we are acutely aware of the increasing pressure on our services and the impact this can have on children and young people.

Several key challenges are impacting our ability to respond effectively. These include the unprecedented demand for this service in a relatively short period of time, a shortage of appropriate care placements in the context of an overall placement crisis, the challenges around availability of suitably qualified staff and the need to expand the authorised worker role supporting these young people. The challenges also include the need for legislative changes or policy direction on the provision of care and accommodation for separated children and unaccompanied minors, the need for a review of the transition to adult services and the right to aftercare services. There is also a need for a review of the reunification process and clear roles and responsibilities should be set out in this regard.

As an agency, our internal audit system has identified significant challenges in standards of governance, documentation, placement, communication and legal matters for this service. We have a service-wide improvement plan in place to address this. However, this remains challenging in the context I have outlined. We are highlighting these challenges today because, ultimately, they can have an impact on the young people who use our service.

We have also undertaken many proactive initiatives. These include collaboration with child advocacy organisations and NGOs on the development for Tusla of a revised intake and eligibility process for separated children seeking international protection. This would include access to advocacy and a review process. We have a partnership with MECPATHS to raise awareness and provide training to staff on child trafficking in Ireland. We have implemented the 2021 child sexual exploitation procedure in partnership with An Garda Síochána. We have also developed a bespoke learning and development training programme to train our front-line staff.

It is also important to note that many of the young people being accommodated by, or in the care of, Tusla have integrated very well, are accessing education and employment, and are engaging in sports and social activities. Many have reunited with their families. As an agency, we are determined to do everything we can to ensure this vulnerable group of children and young people access safe and appropriate services. To do so will require timely and definite legal and policy changes, significant interagency co-operation, and an increase in the resources available to respond to these referrals.

We have engaged with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Children’s Rights Alliance to plan an engagement with stakeholders in the wider sector to consult on how we could better structure and deliver services to separated children seeking international protection and unaccompanied minors. We will also be engaging with young people who have accessed our services to hear directly what their experiences have been and how they think we can improve services to better meet their needs.