Amendment No. 14 restates the present provisions of the Act regarding fingerprinting of asylum applicants. Fingerprinting is a valuable and non-intrusive technique for ensuring that the process for investigating asylum applications is not abused by people who make claims in multiple identities and in many countries. However, for some time I have been concerned at the growing evidence of "child-swapping" among asylum-seekers as well as the worrying growth in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Ireland. The present law forbids the fingerprinting of anyone under 14 years old, which limits the possibilities for investigating both frauds based on inflated child benefit claims and the very much more worrying concern of trade in smuggled children.