Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

Since 2000, at least 508 migrant children placed in HSE accommodation have disappeared after being placed in care by the Department of Justice and Law Reform. Of even greater concern is that only 67, or one in seven, of these vulnerable children have ever been traced. It is clear some of these young children are being coerced or enticed from State care into lives of depravity and prostitution. There is strong evidence that HSE hostels are little more than grooming grounds for those seeking to prey on vulnerable children. This is the child abuse scandal of tomorrow and clearly shows that nothing has been learned form the scandals of the past or from the litany of abuse outlined in the Ryan report.

Moreover, the cover-up continues. Because of the so-called industrial action by staff, the HSE is denying this House data regarding the number of separated children placed in care this year and the number who have vanished. The figures I have been able to obtain indicate that one in five children in care has disappeared this year. The Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, indicated last year that it is the State's objective to treat all unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the same way as Irish children in State care are treated. He is to be commended on that objective.

However, in February this year we had the first public acknowledgment by the HSE that its standard of care for migrant children placed under its responsibility by the Garda was substandard when compared with that provided to Irish children. The Irish Times published comments by a senior director in the HSE, Mr. Philip Garland, who accepted that the organisation has failed migrant children and that they are being treated differently to Irish children. The HSE was aware right through the boom years that children disappearing from their hostels were being exploited. In some cases they had been previously taken out of dire situations, such as brothels. At the beginning of this year there were reports of two children found in brothels in the State, one of whom was just 15 years old. There is no doubt that the HSE's failure to act has facilitated the labour and sexual exploitation of vulnerable children.

The reason for the double standard of care is the lack of a voice to speak up for these children. They have no parents or relatives to ask the hard questions. Will the Minister of State elaborate on the 167 children who died subsequent to disappearing from HSE accommodation, according to the figures released by the HSE last week? How many of those were unaccompanied minors? I put this question to the HSE yesterday but, as I am not a journalist, I do no expect a response for months. It is totally unacceptable that the media can access information far quicker than can Members of this House, which is the democratic parliamentary institution of the State. We are told the system is changing, that we will have answers and that there will be transparency. What is happening at the moment, however, is appalling.

It is vital that these children have an independent advocate with the sole purpose of ensuring their best interests are protected. Not only is there no such advocate but many of these children do not even make it on to the missing children's website. Last year the Ombudsman for Children pointed out that one of the separated children with whom she was dealing disappeared during study leave and was not highlighted on the missing children's website. In the case of at least one in six children who disappear, there is no indication of that disappearance on the website.

The Ryan report frightens us to the core and we must ensure such abuse never recurs. What is needed now is not words but action. The Government must immediately end the practice of placing separated children in hostels without proper care, supervision or standards. The dereliction of care on behalf of the State has allowed those who exploited and abused children in the past to go undetected. We cannot and must not let that continue, simply on the basis of the colour of the child's skin.

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