asked the Minister for External Affairs whether his attention has been directed to the observations of Mr. Basil Henriques, at the East London Juvenile Court, on 11th November, 1946, in regard to two Irish girls, aged 15 and 16, found wandering in London with no means of subsistence; and whether he will investigate the circumstances in which these juveniles were permitted to go to England unprovided for.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Girls in London.
My attention has been drawn to the case referred to by the Deputy, and I have investigated the circumstances.
These two girls applied for travel permits last August, and, the regulations being properly complied with, the applications were granted in the normal course.
The making of proper provision for the material and moral welfare of minors applying for travel permits is fundamentally the responsibility of the parents, who are the natural guardians. Travel permit applications from minors are not granted unless they are accompanied by a written declaration by the parents stating that they know of and consent to the application. In the two cases referred to in the question, the required declarations by the parents were furnished with the applications, the declaration in each case specifying the name of the person to whose employment the minor was going.
The magistrate who heard the case is quoted as saying:—
"Tell other girls in Ireland not to come over here and expect us to help them when they are on the rocks, as we have done with you."
I hope that the facts of this case, and the observations of the magistrate, will serve as a warning and that parents whose children think of going to employment outside the country will bear them in mind before consenting to the applications for travel facilities.
Arising out of the Taoiseach's reply, would it not be well before granting travel facilities to children of 15 years of age to recommend very strongly to the parents of girls of that age that they should not send them to England unless they themselves are satisfied that there is in England a relative or intimate friend prepared to accept responsibility for their moral and material welfare while in England? Does not the Taoiseach think that in future some more elaborate machinery should be laid down in order to bring home to parents in this country the grave dangers in sending children abroad unless there are friends or relatives to look after them?
I think that the formal obtaining of the consent of the parents to an application of that kind ought to be sufficient. I agree that it is most undesirable that young girls should go over to positions in such circumstances. I hope the publicity given to this case will act as a deterrent to the parents and lead them seriously to consider whether it is right to send young girls to a strange country in such circumstances. From time to time I myself have got deplorable accounts of what has happened in cases of that kind.
Does not the Taoiseach think that it is of vital importance to ensure that Irish parents are fully alive to this aspect—that is, even where they are sending their children to group jobs, the children should be under the care of a relative or an intimate friend to whom they could have recourse in the event of their dismissal? I think some suggestion along those lines ought to be made to the parents before they are permitted to send their children abroad.
I will look into the matter to see whether it is possible to have something done in that direction. These declarations in present circumstances are made before the Guards and it may be possible in future to have the Guards instructed to issue a warning when the declarations are being signed.