Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, appreciate where Senator Higgins is coming from and when it comes to dealing with children, we need to take every precaution. We always need to be sure that we are treating them, and every individual, in the way that they deserve, and that is with respect. Insofar as possible, and I hate to repeat this point, but what we are trying to do is to mimic and to essentially put in place a mechanism that reflects the current mechanism that exists through the Dublin regulation. The section we propose to amend is set out, insofar as possible, based on Regulation No. 10 of the European Union (Dublin System) Regulations, which concerns powers of arrest and related matters when affecting a transfer decision under the Dublin regulation.

As Senator Ward has pointed out, this amendment would make it necessary that the relevant officers would have documentation proving a person's age and there are a number of challenges with that requirement. First, an officer would have to have that documentation with them and it would have to apply in all cases, and not just where there is uncertainty about a person's age. Second, there is the difficulty that as many international protection applicants may not have documentation proving their age, again there is a challenge in that regard. This would create a difficulty in carrying out what is an important part of the overall Part 18 of this Bill. We are trying to mirror what already exists. I am not saying it is perfect and I accept the Senator's point that we need to err on the side of caution and that we are particularly sensitive when it comes to younger people. However, this amendment would not just apply to someone suspected of being under 18 years of age. Documentation would be required for every single person and that would place an unfair burden on officers in this respect. The other point is perhaps something that we could discuss at another stage.