Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister says there should be no differentiation between the children who come to our shores under the direct provision model and our own children. I could not agree with her more but unfortunately it would seem there is a differentiation. The Minister also said that Ireland is regarded very highly for the way it supports these children yet in September 2006, in its review of Ireland's implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the relevant UN committee specifically raised with the Irish delegation the question of discriminatory treatment for children of asylum seekers. The former Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, frequently drew attention to the particular difficulties faced by the children of asylum seekers in Ireland. In 2008 she observed that children who seek protection in the State, especially separated children seeking asylum and child victims of trafficking, are among the most vulnerable in our society and face multiple barriers to the realisation of their rights. Until recently the Ombudsman for Children excluded children living in direct provision from making complaints. It is welcome that has changed recently but many residents still fear making a complaint because of their very precarious status.

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