Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a point a number of us raised on Second Stage, namely, children's rights under the Bill and to ensure that the rights of children, particularly children who come into Ireland as unaccompanied minors, are adequately protected. I was very heartened to hear the Minister speak about this last night in her speech and in her response where she pointed out how much the practice has improved and how much better it is now.

As colleagues will recall, at one point unaccompanied minors were housed in hostels where they were extremely vulnerable to being trafficked or exploited. There were real concerns about child protection issues. As colleagues are aware and as the Minister reminded us last night, much better practice is now in place through ensuring that unaccompanied minors are now accommodated in foster homes, which is very welcome.

I appreciate the sentiment behind the amendments. As the Minister said, all of us seek to ensure we have adequate humanitarian protections in place, particularly for children and child applicants. I am very encouraged by the explicit wording in section 35 which provides that the authorised officer, to be renamed the international protection officer after Committee Stage, shall take the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. By having those words right at the start of the section it is clear that all the other provisions of the section must be read in light of that consideration. That is the primary consideration and it is fairly clear that the Child and Family Agency will appoint a person who will then be given the opportunity to inform the child about the meaning and consequences of the interview and so on. A number of practical points are set out as to what will be done, but they all must be done in light of the best interests of the child as the primary consideration. That covers a great deal of the child protection issues we are all very concerned about.