Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The HSE has provided the following information on the number of separated children or unaccompanied minors seeking asylum who have gone missing from the care of the HSE since 2007. In 2007, 32 separated children went missing from the care of the HSE, in 2008 22 went missing, and up to October 2009 45 young people went missing from the care of the HSE.

It is a matter of great concern to the Government, the HSE and the Garda Síochána that a number of separated children go missing after they enter the State. Separated children going missing from care is not a phenomenon unique to Ireland. In many cases children go missing very soon after arriving in the country. The suspicion is that many of these children may have planned this with persons unknown prior to entering the country. This may be done with the objective of reuniting with their families, who have already arrived in the State, or with the intention of relocating to other European countries where their families are located.

The HSE has developed a strong working relationship with the Garda National Immigration Bureau with regard to missing children. A joint national protocol is in place between the HSE and Garda Síochána for all children who go missing from care. The protocol seeks to maximise inter-agency co-operation, to reduce the incidence of children going missing from care placements and to return missing children to safety as soon as possible.

The implementation plan for the 2009 report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse contains a commitment that separated children will be accommodated in mainstream care instead of hostels by December 2010. This move from hostel accommodation to residential and foster care should help to ensure that fewer children go missing. The HSE has begun the process of phasing out the hostel arrangements. Three hostels were closed recently, leaving four to be closed in 2010. The introduction of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, together with the work been undertaken by the anti-human trafficking unit in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should help to ensure that the numbers going missing are reduced significantly and that these young people are cared for in a safe and secure environment.

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