Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A very happy Christmas to you, Deputy. I hope that was not an afterthought.

I met the French Minister on the motion passed in the Dáil. A group of officials will be travelling to France shortly to have discussions on the programme. It is possible under the Refugee Act to designate a special programme to make sure there is a legal mechanism for unaccompanied minors to come into this country from France. French officials are identifying unaccompanied children in France, who will be mostly between the ages of 16 and 18 and primarily from Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan. The Minister for Children and Youth affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, will be working with Tusla to see what provision can be made here for accommodation for those young people. Obviously, the programme will have to start with a smaller group and see how it develops.

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