asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of the number of young people between 14 and 17 years of age travelling abroad without supervision; and the action, if any, he intends taking in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Young Travellers.
32.
The question of arrangements for travel abroad by young persons is a responsibility of the parents or guardians of such persons and my Department has no specific function in relation to the supervision of such travel. It has not come to my attention that persons in the age group specified by the Deputy are travelling abroad to any significant extent without supervision and problems arising from unsupervised travel as such have not been reported to my Department.
33.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is aware of the discovery by social workers of children aged 14 years and under travelling to Britain to find work; and the action, if any, he intends taking in the matter.
I am aware of instances of very young Irish persons going unaccompanied to Great Britain but such instances are, I believe, very few. The minimum legal age for employment in Britain is 16 years so that persons 14 years of age and under would not be legally employable in Britain. Persons of such age would tend to come to the attention of various welfare agencies and ultimately would be returned to Ireland under the repatriation scheme operated by my Department. Since April, 1974, only three young persons aged 14 years and under have in fact been so repatriated, and this suggests that the matter is not of any magnitude or that it presents any problems which cannot adequately be dealt with by existing facilities.
The remaining questions will appear on tomorrow's Order Paper.