Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 22 Feb 2001

Vol. 531 No. 2

Written Answers. - Asylum Seekers.

Brendan Howlin

Ceist:

93 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Health and Children the provision which is being made to cater for the special needs of unaccompanied minors who have applied for asylum in respect of accommodation segregated from adults. [5273/01]

Brendan Howlin

Ceist:

101 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Health and Children the actions which have been taken to fulfil the commitment given in the national children's strategy published in November 2000 that unaccompanied children seeking refugee status will be treated in accordance with best international practice, including the provision of a designated social worker and guardian ad litem; the further action he will take in this regard; and the date by which he will taken action in this regard. [5295/01]

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Ms Hanafin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 101 together.

In so far as the asylum process is concerned, the arrangements for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Ireland are governed by the provisions of section 8(5) of the Refugee Act, 1996. Section 8(5)(a) of the Act provides that “where it appears to an immigration officer or an authorised officer that a child under the age of 18 years, who has either arrived at the frontiers of the State or has entered the State, is not in the custody of any person, the officer shall, as soon as practicable, so inform the health board in whose functional area the child is and thereupon the provisions of the Child Care Act, 1991, shall apply in relation to the child”.

Section 8(5)(b) provides that “where it appears to the health board concerned, on the basis of information available to it, that an application for a declaration should be made by or on behalf of a child referred to in paragraph (a), the health board shall arrange for the appointment of an officer of the health board or such other person as it may determine to make an application on behalf of the child”. If the health board decides that an application for a declaration as a refugee should be made on behalf of an unaccompanied minor, the application will be dealt with as a matter of priority by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.

The processing of applications for refugee status from unaccompanied minors has a number of child-specific features and has regard to the UNHCR's guidelines on policies and procedures in dealing with unaccompanied children seeking asylum as well as the relevant paragraphs of the UNHCR's procedures handbook and the EU Council Resolution on Unaccompanied Minors who are Nationals of Third Countries – 26 June 1997. Unaccompanied minors are only interviewed in the presence of a health board rep resentative. The question of appointment of such representatives is a matter for the health board.

Co-ordinated guidelines for dealing with unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are currently being developed in my Department in consultation with the Department of Health and Children, the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and representatives of the health boards. Under the provisions of the Refugee Act, 1996, the agencies with primary responsibility for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers are the health boards. The provision of specific services such as health, education, social and community welfare services are matters for the appropriate Departments and statutory agencies, in consultation with the health boards, and would be the responsibility of the individual Ministers concerned.

In relation to the number of unaccompanied minors who applied for asylum in 1998, 1999 and during each month of 2000, the information made available to me by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner is set out in the following tabular statement:

Month/year of application	No. of applications from unaccompanied minors
1998	2
1999	33
January 2000	12
February 2000	3
March 2000	14
April 2000	11
May 2000	14
June 2000	10
July 2000	23
August 2000	29
September 2000	49
October 2000	50
November 2000	40
December 2000	49
(Total for year 2000)	(304)

*It should be noted that of the above persons, 26 have since turned 18 and a further eight have been reunited with their family or guardians.

I have also been informed by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner that, as at 31 January 2001, there were 345 unaccompanied minors at first instance within the asylum system. The Office of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal informs me that two unaccompanied minors had appeals outstanding at that date.