John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am replying to this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews. The HSE is not in a position to provide information in respect of the issue raised by the Deputy, due to ongoing industrial action. In the absence of such information, I will set out the current policy position on unaccompanied minors.

The immediate and ongoing needs of separated children seeking asylum relating to accommodation, medical and social needs, as well as their application for refugee status, are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive in accordance with the Refugee Act 1996 and the Child Care Act 1991.

Where separated children are identified by the Garda Síochána at the point of entry, the circumstances are investigated and if there are any concerns about the welfare of the child, he or she is placed in the care of the HSE. Where a separated child is in the company of an adult and there are concerns about his or her welfare, then he or she is also placed in the care of the HSE.

Research indicates that the tendency to equate all missing children with trafficked children is unsubstantiated. Some of the missing individuals are recorded as children on the basis of their referral to the out of hours social work service, but there is substantial operational experience to indicate that some of these individuals may be adults, as they have disappeared before a comprehensive age assessment process could be conducted by the dedicated social work team for unaccompanied minors.

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