John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, to which I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter.

The Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, of the Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for the accommodation of asylum seekers in accordance with the Government's policy of direct provision and dispersal. Standard 3.4 of HIQA's national standards states as follows:

Child protection and welfare services provided on behalf of statutory service providers are monitored for compliance with legislation, regulations, national child protection and welfare policy and standards.

These HIQA standards apply to the HSE children and family services or any subsequent agency which will take on the HSE's statutory functions under section 3 of the Child Care Act 1991. These functions include protecting and promoting the welfare of children at risk in the community and supporting and protecting children in the care of the State. Children living in the direct provision system are not in the care of the State. All live in a family context and their parents or guardians have primary responsibility for their care and welfare. Neither does the RIA accommodate unaccompanied minors; they are in the care of the HSE. While HIQA standards do not apply directly to the RIA, they apply to the HSE children and family services in the context of its role in dealing with children living in the direct provision system who are referred to it. Such referrals can be made under the RIA's child protection policy but may also be made by, for example, general practitioners, teachers, etc. Responsibility for child and family services is assigned to a specific unit in the RIA, the child and family services unit, the role of which is to manage, deliver, co-ordinate, monitor and plan all matters relating to child and family services for all asylum seekers residing in the direct provision system and to act as a conduit between the RIA and the HSE and, where necessary, the Garda.

The RIA and the HSE co-operate closely in meeting the needs of residents, particularly children, in all centres. Discussions take place through inter-agency meetings, health liaison officer meetings, medical screening service meetings, working groups on matters such as healthy infant feeding guidelines, child protection, psychological and other health service groups. The RIA has a child protection policy, based on the HSE's Children First national guidelines for the protection and welfare of children. This policy is being updated in line with the recently revised HSE's Children First policy published in July 2011. All staff working in RIA centres are Garda vetted and trained in the RIA child protection policy. The RIA takes its role regarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults very seriously. It is satisfied that its child protection policies comply with all national standards and policies.

It is a difficult and complex matter to definitively establish, particularly in the short time involved, the number of Irish citizen children living in the direct provision system. In a recent report by an NGO it was described as a considerable number, but there is no evidence that this is so. In fact, the likelihood is that the cohort involved is extremely small. The number of people being accommodated in the direct provision system is just under 5,000 in 36 centres throughout the State.

The principal difficulty is that it is common for asylum seeker families to have a child born while residing in the direct provision system. In some cases, the parents concerned may have a mistaken belief their child is an Irish citizen by dint of being born here. However, this clearly is not so, as since 1 January 2005 there is no automatic right to Irish citizenship. Some parents in this circumstance do not make an asylum application on behalf of the child and the exact nationality of the child only becomes definitively known when such an application is made, sometimes arising from, for example, a deportation order issuing against the rest of the family or the institution of legal proceedings. From a practical point of view, the RIA must continue to accommodate that child with his or her family, notwithstanding the uncertainty over the child's nationality or asylum status. The Minister has asked his immigration officials to examine this statistical issue in more detail and communicate further with the Senator in the matter.