Maria Corrigan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady, to the House and I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to raise this very important matter. I seek an update on the exact number of children who have gone missing from the care of the Health Service Executive, HSE. I am aware that in recent years in excess of 360 children have gone missing from the care of the HSE, including Irish children and unaccompanied non-national minors. I seek also an update on the measures employed to locate these children, whether the Garda has been informed, if search campaigns have been launched, how many of the missing children have been found and, when found, what measures were undertaken to ascertain the reasons for going missing from the care of the HSE. This matter is especially pertinent in light of the recent Ryan report which drew attention to the fact that in the past children frequently went missing from the care of the State in cases in which it was a reflection of another underlying matter of distress. Therefore, in the case of any child who goes missing it would be very useful to ensure there is in place a procedure to establish the cause of running away.

I am aware, especially in the case of unaccompanied non-national minors, of anecdotal accounts of some children who, upon arrival to the State unaccompanied, enter the care of the HSE but then go missing because they try to join up with their families who are already in the State. However, I am also aware there is concern that some of these children may be intentionally trafficked to Ireland. We have signed the Hague Convention and we are amending legislation through the new Adoption Bill to ensure we are in compliance. We have a particular responsibility not only on a human level but legislatively to ensure we discharge our requirements in preventing trafficking. I seek further information from the Minister of State, although she may not have it to hand. There is concern with the reunification procedures for uniting unaccompanied children with alleged family members. Anecdotal evidence suggests the authorities ask the children for an account and they then ask the adult, allegedly the family member, for an account. If both accounts tally, the authorities are then satisfied that those concerned are members of the same family. There is concern that if a child is being trafficked to Ireland it would be easy to give the child a story and to ensure whatever adult turned up to claim a familial relationship to have the same or a similar story. Will the Minister of State have this matter and the procedures for unification re-examined? Is it possible to update our procedures to reflect the advances in science? There is no reason a DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, test should not be required to prove, beyond doubt, that there is a familial connection between the adult claiming the relationship and the child.

I welcome the commitment given that residential facilities for unaccompanied, non-national children will no longer be exempt from inspection. Will the Minister of State indicate if there is a timeframe for the commencement of the inspectorate for these residential facilities for children?