Written answers

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

Children in Care

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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484. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of unaccompanied minors claiming asylum who have been taken into the care of the State in each year since 2009 and to date in 2018; the number reported missing in each year; the number who have been relocated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52138/18]

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Separated children seeking asylum are defined as “children under eighteen years of age who are outside their country of origin, who have applied for asylum and are separated from their parents or their legal/customary care giver”. All children and young people in this service have an allocated Social Worker. All young people and young adults in the service who are entitled to Aftercare services have an allocated Aftercare Worker.

Table 1 sets out the total number of referrals to the Tusla Separated Children Seeking Asylum Team and the number of those children taken into care, from 2009-2017 and to date in 2018.

Table 1.

YearTotal Referrals to Tusla Separated Children Seeking Asylum TeamChildren Placed in Care
2009203126
20109670
20119966
20127148
201312062
20149786
201510982
201612682
2017175111
2018 to date11163

Table 2 sets out the number of missing unaccompanied minors and the number of minors relocated/found. A child is deemed to be missing according to his or her individualised absence management plan. Going missing from care can include missing a curfew, or an unscheduled absence from a care placement, and does not always mean that a child has disappeared or run away. It is important to note that one child could be reported missing more than once. There should be no inference made about whether these children made applications for international protection or not. Some children went missing before they were interviewed by a social worker.

Table 2.

Year Number of children reported missingNumber of children found
2009 50 12
2010 13 9
2011 8 2
2012 5 3
2013 5 3
2014 3 2
2015 10 5
2016 9 4
2017 8 5
2018 to date 10 4

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