Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
465. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Justice the number of unaccompanied or separated children whom her Department referred to the Tusla under section 14 of the International Protection Act 2015 in advance of an application for international protection being lodged in 2022 and to date in 2023, broken down by year, gender and nationality, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29787/23]
View answerThe International Protection Office (IPO) of my Department is responsible for examining all international protection applications received. The Child and Family Agency (Tusla) has statutory responsibility for the care of any unaccompanied minors in the State.
If an unaccompanied minor indicates that they wish to apply for international protection, they are referred to Tusla, either by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) or the Border Management Agency (BMU) at the airport/port of entry, or by staff at the IPO of my Department. The IPO refers all persons who present at the IPO indicating that they wish to apply for international protection and who appear to be an unaccompanied minors to Tusla.
Based on the acceptance by Tusla of the unaccompanied minor into their services, it shall be presumed that the person concerned is a child and the Child Care Acts 1991 to 2013, the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and other enactments relating to the care and welfare of persons who have not attained the age of 18 years shall apply accordingly.
Section 15(4) of the International Protection Act 2015, provides that where it appears to Tusla, on the basis of information, including legal advice, available to it, that an application for international protection should be made on behalf of a child under 18 in respect of whom it is providing care and protection, it shall arrange for an employee of the Agency to make an application on behalf of the child and to represent and assist the child with respect to the examination of the application.
All applications for international protection made by Tusla on behalf of unaccompanied minors are prioritised by the IPO for processing, and the IPO has specially trained caseworkers to process these applications. Specific arrangements will be made by the IPO in conjunction with Tusla for the processing of the application. Tusla will support the minor throughout the process, including attending at their interview.
For a variety of reasons, not all unaccompanied minors referred to Tusla will make an application for international protection. Some may be inappropriate referrals, others may not be brought into the care of Tusla, and a number will be reunited with their families, who then have responsibility for submitting a protection application or other immigration application.
The information sought by the Deputy regarding a breakdown of the referrals of unaccompanied minors to Tusla can be found below.
Breakdown of Gender of unaccompanied minors referred to Tusla by the IPO*
|
Gender |
2022 |
2023 (end May) |
|
Male |
136 |
61 |
|
Female |
41 |
12 |
|
Non-Specified |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
177 |
73 |
Breakdown of nationality of unaccompanied minors referred to Tusla *
|
Nationality |
2022 |
2023 (end May ) |
|
Afghanistan |
71 |
29 |
|
Albania |
5 |
5 |
|
Algeria |
7 |
5 |
|
Cameroon |
5 |
0 |
|
DR Congo |
5 |
5 |
|
Egypt |
7 |
5 |
|
Eritrea |
5 |
5 |
|
Guinea |
5 |
0 |
|
India |
5 |
0 |
|
Ivory Coast |
5 |
0 |
|
Morocco |
5 |
0 |
|
Nigeria |
6 |
5 |
|
Pakistan |
5 |
5 |
|
Palestine |
5 |
0 |
|
Sierra Leone |
5 |
5 |
|
Somalia |
59 |
22 |
|
South Africa |
5 |
0 |
|
Sudan |
5 |
5 |
|
Syria |
5 |
0 |
|
Tunisia |
5 |
0 |
|
Ukraine |
5 |
0 |
|
Zimbabwe |
5 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
177 |
73 |
*Figures correct at time of issue. All statistics may be subject to data cleansing
