Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening but I would have liked if the Minister or Minister of State with responsibility for children had come to the House to take this Adjournment matter.

I regard this issue as extremely important and worrying. We have unfortunately debated in this House in recent times a number of cases of abuse and inappropriate treatment of children in State care, often with tragic effect. As recently as January last, just six or eight weeks ago, a young Chinese national arrived at Cork Airport from Barcelona. She was stopped by Garda immigration officers at Cork Airport and was found to have false documentation and was put into HSE care. She spent her first night in what is termed "emergency foster care" in Carrigaline. She arrived at Cork Airport on 22 January and spent 23 and 24 January, which was a weekend, in emergency foster care. On the Monday, the HSE child care services in the south of the area, accompanied by a social worker, spoke to her with an interpreter as she did not speak English and decided to move her from emergency foster care into what is described as "supported lodgings", again in Carrigaline in Cork. As I understand it, the following day, 26 January, she left the lodgings to walk down the main street of Carrigaline and has not been seen since. This is another case of a child in HSE care - her nationality is not the main issue - who has gone missing. She is a child who was in the State's care and she is now missing. No one knows where she is.

There are seven cases involving Chinese children between the ages of 16 and 17 years who have during the past 12 months gone missing while in State care. If one visits the missingkids.com website and searches for children who have gone missing during the past 12 months, one will see all of the photographs and names, of which there are 12, on the list of missing children. They are all girls, seven of whom are Chinese. What is happening that we can allow young Chinese girls to come into Ireland illegally, put them into State care and allow them to disappear without trace? This is what has happened for the first time in Cork. It happened on a street outside my constituency office. I spoke in detail about this matter with officials from the HSE today. They were open in regard to the procedures they put in place and are insistent they applied the appropriate protocol required of them in terms of initially putting this child into emergency foster care and then moving her into supported accommodation. That standard practice is not good enough. We have now allowed a child, the responsibility of this State, to disappear.

Perhaps this child was trafficked; perhaps not. We do not know. The evidence suggests that given the number of young girls who have disappeared, all of whom come from the same country, China, and were in State care, that there is something seriously awry that we need to resolve. The reality is that this girl could be in the basement of a brothel somewhere in Ireland or Britain. This girl was in State care and after only four days she went missing. If this were an Irish 16 year old from Carrigaline, Crosshaven or Cork city, there would be a national outcry to find her. Yet, because this girl and the other six young girls who have gone missing without trace, are Chinese nationals, there is no significant political crisis or requirement to change practise to ensure we do not allow this to happen again.

I want the Government to give me a comprehensive answer as soon as possible, to explain how this has happened, what are its consequences and what the State is now doing to locate this child to ensure that she is not being exploited or abused.

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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With respect, the Minister of State should put the notes down and give me some assurance that the State will take this particular case seriously. I understand that he cannot give me a comprehensive response due to industrial action, which is a disgrace.

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Deputy's point. The fact that he has compared this case to six other cases is quite serious. I cannot be specific because of the industrial action, but I do not want to hide behind that. The Deputy has given me the opportunity to reply some time tomorrow rather than tonight and I would prefer to take that course of action.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.