Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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341. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to UNICEF's recent finding of a 500% rise in unaccompanied and separated child refugees since 2010-11 and the increasing dangers posed by traffickers; the steps he is taking to address the deteriorating situation for unaccompanied refugee children trying to reach Europe and Ireland in particular; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25829/17]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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UNICEF has recently presented a global snapshot of the plight of refugee and migrant children. I share the grave concern at the truly alarming numbers of children moving alone worldwide, many of whom are forced to take highly dangerous routes to reach their destinations, and are often at the mercy of smugglers and traffickers.

Ireland has a strong partnership with UNICEF and we support its work in development and humanitarian aid. Last year, Ireland was among UNICEF’s top twenty international donors. Our support enables UNICEF to carry out its valuable work on the ground to respond to the needs of children in the current refugee crisis. UNICEF is also working to deliver humanitarian services wherever needed on refugee routes, including providing water and food and increasingly psychosocial support. Ireland is currently a member of UNICEF’s governing board and we are using this opportunity to ensure that the Fund continues to focus on the needs of children who are forced from their homes.

Ireland also provides core funding to UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) so that it can deliver on its critical role in child protection.

Last year concerted work at the UN, co-facilitated by Ireland, led to a UN agreement in September to negotiate a more humane response to the current refugee and migration crisis. Currently UNHCR is leading efforts to finalise a Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework which recognises unaccompanied children and children separated from their families as refugees with special protection concerns. The importance of respecting and protecting the human rights of migrant and asylum-seeking children, including unaccompanied minors, remains a priority for Ireland in this process.

At the EU level, the core intention of the EU- Turkey Agreement agreed in March 2016, is to break the business model of the people smugglers who are profiting from the suffering of the vulnerable including children. Ireland is contributing a total of almost €23 million to the Facility established to support that Agreement, between 2016 and 2019.

Similarly, the €3 million which we will provide between 2016 and 2020 for the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund on the Root Causes of Irregular Migration in Africa, is aimed at meeting immediate needs and at enabling longer-term development so that children will not be forced out of their homes because of the absence of economic opportunities.