Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 November 2016
113. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a formal and proactive approach has been made to date to the French Government in order to locate the children formerly in the Calais camp and to bring them here. [36487/16]
View answerI understand that the Minister with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration, Mr David Stanton T.D., had an initial discussion with France’s Ambassador to Ireland on 10 November concerning the motion agreed by Dáil Éireann that day on the unaccompanied minors previously living in the unofficial camp at Calais. Subsequently, Ireland’s Ambassador to France, Geraldine Byrne Nason, met with senior officials from the French Interior Ministry and further contacts are anticipated.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Department of Justice and Equality are following up on their respective responsibilities as regards coordinating and planning for this issue. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has asked Tusla (the Child and Family Agency) to review its capacity to receive unaccompanied young persons into care, including the assessment of the resources that may be needed to achieve this.
